One Hundred Snowflakes
by Skoozyy
Summary: 100 one-shots of varying lengths. Centered around Yuki/Machi pairing.
1. Beginnings

Hey! This is 100 one-shots of varying lengths, centered around the Yuki/Machi pairing, because they are a personal favourite :P I really hope I'll keep going until I'm finished. If you like this, feel free to prod me into action if I'm taking ages to update! I'm totally happy to be flamed for my writing, but not the pairing, 'kay? I like them, if you don't, that's cool, but don't waste your time reading fic about them, 'kay? Thanks everyone!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket (which makes me sad). Also, I'm just stealing the prompts to play with from stories100 (livejournal) methinks. I'm not actually participating in it officially. **

**1. Beginnings**

Everything had a beginning. A book. A TV show. A game. A life. Everything.

People always talked about new beginnings, Machi heard them, around every new year. "New beginnings!" They would say joyously. "New starts!" None of them seemed to be able to see what Machi saw. For there to be a new beginning, surely that meant something else must have ended? And who was to say the new thing would be as good?

Student President had asked for the council to take a small chunk of time out of their holidays to assemble at school. The day before New Year he requested. He had said, maybe jokingly, that it was quite symbolic that they made sure that last year's business was all wrapped up before they went into the next one.

Machi had been sceptical about the others showing up. Manabe and Kimi both seemed to love parties. She couldn't see them sacrificing time out of their own time to deal with something as tedious as paperwork. Maybe Naohito might show. He like to have everything done and in order. But, knowing him, he'd probably got all his work done before school had even finished for the holidays.

Machi quietly moved the sliding door to one side so she could see into the room, which was quite cold and looked disused even though it was only a little over a week since the holidays had begun.

On first glance she had thought that it was empty, but taking a couple of cautious steps inside she was met with:

"Kuragi-san!"

She turned sharply. Student President was sitting at the desk which was usually Naohito's. He had one large disorderly stack of papers in front of him, and a far smaller pile with some untidy kanji characters scrawled onto them, positioned on the adjacent desk.

"I was starting to think I would have to do this lot by myself!" He said, sounding genuinely pleased by her appearance.

"Have you been here long, Student President?" She asked, checking subtly on her watch that she wasn't late. A couple of minutes, maybe.

"No, no. Not long really. Ten or so minutes I guess." He was still smiling, and it was starting to make her feel uncomfortable.

"What is it you want me to do?" She asked, not looking at him.

"Um… well," He picked up some of the papers that were sat in front of him, then leaned over with his arm outstretched. Machi had to take a few steps towards him to reach the papers.

"You do that half, I do this?" He said playfully. Machi picked up a spare pen which was lying on the table being occupied by the finished paperwork. She couldn't help but notice that his pile seemed rather a lot larger than hers. Maybe he just hadn't paid much attention to what he was doing when he split the work. She took her seat at the desk on the other side of it, so the finished-papers-desk stood as a barrier in the middle of them.

They worked in relative silence, broken only occasionally to confer a few words if there was something they weren't sure of.

It only took a little over at hour for Machi to finish her pile. When she stood up, she saw that Student President still had quite a way to go. Her movements seemed to catch his eye.

"Done already?" He sounded slightly impressed.

She nodded curtly. "Was there anything else you wanted me to do?"

"Nope, that was it. Thank you very much." He was smiling again. How unnerving, she thought.

She nodded again, and started towards the door.

"Unless, you want to help me finish up?"

Machi turned her head slightly.

"Do you want me to?" She asked quietly, and wasn't sure if he'd heard her, because he didn't reply straight away.

"If you don't mind helping me… well, I would like it very much, Machi-san."

She turned quite abruptly towards him at the sound of her first name. "M-machi-san?" She repeated.

"Machi-san." He said after her, smiling with something that looked almost like affection.

She felt her lips turn up ever so slightly of their own accord, but quickly pushed them back to a neutral line. His smile seemed to have widened. He'd seen. He seemed to have read it as her approval.

"It's New Year after all, Machi-san. The time for new things. New beginnings."

Maybe new beginnings could be okay.


	2. Middles

**I don't like this part at all really. I had no idea what to do with the prompt :( **

**2. Middles**

She wasn't a bad person, she knew that, though she had fleeting moments of doubt sometimes. Still, that didn't make her a good one either.

"You've finished the report already?" Yuki asked, looking surprised but pleased.

She nodded. "I… I spent some time on it last night, too, so there wasn't so much to do this morning."

He looked at her with his warm violet eyes. "Thank you, Kuragi-san. I really appreciate it."

She shrugged her shoulders and looked down at her slightly scuffed shoes, trying to hide a faint pink-ness that had come across her cheeks.

He scanned it, taking in the words quickly. "It's excellent. You've done very well."

"No." She whispered, then said it again, slightly louder, "No. I haven't done well at all. It's actually very poorly done. I-I spent barely any time on it." Her head snapped up quickly, and she quickly grabbed the sheet of paper from Yuki's loose grasp.

"But you said-"

"No, no I spent SOME time on it, but not much, at all really."

"I don't think it matters how much time you put into it." Yuki said calmly, "though I'm truly touched if you worked on it in your own time, out of school. But even if you just scribbled it in the last two minutes of the meeting, that doesn't change the fact that is very good."

"It's not good."

"Yes, Kuragi-san, it is."

"It's bad. Very bad."

"Yet I say it's good. Very good. So we're in a bit of a dilemma really."

Machi stared resolutely back at her shoes, and didn't protest when Yuki gently slipped the sheet from her grasp.

"Maybe we should agree on it being somewhere in the middle? Not bad, yet, even though I strongly disagree, not good either. Middle."


	3. Endings

**This is a weird one which I felt a compulsion to write (mainly because I couldn't write anything good around the prompt). I'd love to know what people think of it. Is is okay, or just too odd? So reviews would be really nice, but just if you're reading this, thank you!**

**Thanks to those who have already reviewed!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Fruits Basket. Surprised? Didn't think so.**

**Endings**

Machi only took the novel off the shelf because it had been the first one to hand as Yuki and Kakeru entered the library. She hadn't wanted to be seen to be waiting for them, so she read the first page.

"_The end of the world is coming."_

The pair come and sit next to her, one on either side.

"_The atmosphere is caving in."_

They discuss council business, though Machi doesn't speak.

"_Heaven and Hell are colliding."_

Kakeru laughs raucously at his own dirty joke.

"_The knowledge is universal, but nobody says a thing."_

Yuki smiles slightly at a story about four year old Machi that Kakeru delights in telling.

"_The streets are still bustling, yet nobody is there."_

Did she really cry when she accidentally stepped on a snail?

"_Televisions are flickering yet people don't try to adjust their aerials."_

She blushes, and hides between the pages of the book.

"_The rain doesn't fall now, yet people still resolutely carry their umbrellas."_

Kakeru is called over, to the librarian's great disapproval, by a couple of loud laughing friends.

"_Night and day are one the same, but alarm clocks still keep ringing."_

He warns Yuki not to touch his sister while he's gone.

"_Water stops flowing, taps turn off. Mothers still tell their children to wash before bed."_

Yuki rolls his eyes, and apologizes for her embarrassment.

"_Flames engulf the rainforests, the swamps, the seas."_

She says it doesn't matter, and flicks hair from her face.

"_Floorboards are cracking, the sky is splitting."_

Yuki reaches out, smiling, and entwines his fingers with hers.

_The end of the world is coming and he takes her hand._


	4. Hours

**Thank you all for you kind reviews on the last part. Phew, I'm relieved it got a good response :D WARNING: This part sucks. My inspiration with the prompt was at nil. Sorry. I'll try to do better next time. Promise.**

**Disclaimer: :( -- Sad face, 'cos I don't own FB.**

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Hours

She cooked. She ate alone. She did her homework dutifully, but had nobody to help her when she got stuck. She lay in her bed, and all movement in the apartment was dead. Everyday, this was the routine. Time passed slowly.

But he changed that. Manabe brought him over, and they started clearing the general debris layering the floor. Manabe had taken out the trash, and given him a chance to talk to her. She'd cried that day, but it wasn't just sadness, relief was mingled in. He had listened. He had accepted her. He had even made a promise.

And then they were gone, into the snow-dusted world outside of her now only slightly disorderly home. She wanted them back. She wanted Yuki to come back. They'd been there for hours, but it seemed only minutes. She wanted that always, to lose track of time.


	5. Days

_Sorry I've taken so long to update; new computer so I've lost all my files. Also, I don't have spell-checker, so any mistakes, feel free to point them out! Anyway, this part is again, slightly obscure. I guess, to a degree, it's a voice in Machi's head, but not really, 'cos if it is, Machi's probably got rather acute schizophrenia. So interpret how you like :D _

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket, or any of the characters. Natsuki Takaya does. 33** _(hearts for her 'cos she rocks. :P)_

**WARNING: Not romantic. Angsty. Sorry :(**

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**Days**

It had been a great opportunity for him, you know that. You know it's what's best for him, without a doubt, on more levels than just the university course. From the fairly small amount he's told you about his family and childhood, he needs to escape from them, to start living a life free from the obligations and restraints of being a Sohma.

Are you being unreasonable? Without a doubt. Why are you defacing your calendar with those ugly red pen marks? Red used to mean Yuki; now it represents his hard-felt absence. A mark for every day you haven't seen him.

This is, unarguably, what they call an unhealthy obsession. Why do you even care so much? Your life went on when he was nothing more to you than Student President, nothing more than your superior on the student council. Life went on then. Why has it come to a grinding halt because he's gone now? It's no different. Why does this matter so much more?

You know why. You wanted it to be different. By being with Yuki, you wanted to BE someone different. You wanted calm composure. You wanted your life fall into an easy stride. That small bouquet he sent you a couple of days ago, you wanted to put them in a vase, and be able to stand back and admire their beauty, while thinking what a romantic boyfriend you have, just like any _normal _girl would do.

You survey, from your crouched vantage point, the scattered, withering, white petals forming confetti on what little that can be seen of your carpet. You'd felt awful about it once the deed had been done, of course. The flowers had only been over your threshhold half an hour or so. It was first time you've destroyed something the Prince, your boyfriend, had given you. What will he say when you tell him? You won't tell him, will you? You'll just lie by omission when he asks you about them. Coward.

Suddenly, you stand, shifting the cramp that was setting in your knees. You stride over to the calender, flipping through it with defiance. One day is marked. One day a long way from now, it's marked with a blue circle. You wait that long, you get through all those days, all those weeks, and you'll get a short period of relief from your withdrawal. But what if it doesn't make a difference if you see him? What if you don't get better again afterwards? What if, the moment you walk into your apartment, fresh from the visit, you feel that desire rising? The one that tells you to destruct and destroy?

You take the red pen. Isn't it out of ink yet? You put a large cross through blue ring, the one that's been your aiming point for weeks now. Then you drop the pen, throw it almost. You start scrabbling around on the floor, amongst the general debris, far in excess even for a teenager's room. You find the blue pen, the only you've hardly used. Again, you attack the calendar, but instead of flipping further into the future, you bring back the page with today on. Today is awaiting it's red mark, the one that'll make it uniform with all those before it. Uncapping your blue pen, you circle it.

It would be unfair for anyone to ever say you were indecisive. You snap the lid back on, putting the pen carefully on the bare sideboard. Then, you take your bag that is slumped against your bedframe, your knuckles whitening at your tight grip. You rummage through a drawer of your bedside table. It seems doubtful that you'll find what your looking for, and your forehead is wrinkling slightly in concern.

Finally, after a few panic-speckled moments, you have success. The bronze key comes into contact with your hand, and you take it out, putting it into the pocket of your pull-over.

He did say you could come anytime, but was he just being polite? He wasn't really expecting you to travel miles, and turn up in his apartment unannounced, was he? What if he says he is busy, or if he doesn't want to see you? You'll just have to find out.


	6. Injury

**I haven't updated in so long :( I'm sorry... I've kept writing bits and pieces for this fic, but they all really sucked. I'm fairly happy with this one. It's fluffy 3 So be warned...**

**Thanks so much to all my reviewers! You guys? You're awesome 3**

**danielie - I'm going to try writing a part about Machi telling Yuki about the flowers in the near future. I want to know what'd happen too :P**

**DISCLAIMER: Dude, I just... don't own Fruits Basket :(**

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**Injury**

His vision went blurry as he fell to the ground, his head hitting hard on the grass of the playing field. He hadn't been paying attention, preoccupied with watching the lost looking girl, the council's treasurer, as she sat guarding their coats on the sidelines. He'd heard Kakeru's yells of warning of the incoming football too late. All his martial arts training amounted to nothing, his reactions as slow as anyone else's would have been . He felt the impact of the ball to the side of his head as if it had been a cannon. For a moment, he felt nothing but the crushing pain in his skull, and then he fell…

***

"Kakureruuuu," A girly and high-pitched voice said from some indefinable distance above, "Now look what you've done. You've killed Yun-Yun."

Strong and fumbling fingers were on his neck, searching. He could feel the pressure of them, but it felt somewhat detached from himself, as if his own body parts were only acquaintances he'd not had the time to get to know.

"He's not dead!" He knew that voice. It was Kakeru. He could pick it out from a crowd of a million. Nobody else could shout quite so loud. "He's still got a pulse. Yun-Yun lives!" He sounded triumphant, as if it were his own saving hands, rather than sheer luck that Yuki still had a heartbeat.

"But there's so much blood! It's making Kimi feel faint." That girl's voice again, high-pitched and flirty. Kimi. Another member of the council, that he, Yuki was the president of. He felt something of relief settle in his stomach as his thoughts started slotting together, and his brain started understanding and comprehending once again.

"There's not THAT much." Kakeru argued, "When I was a kid, this one time, I was riding my bike and I hit a pebble in the road. Whoosh! You should've seen me fly! Some witnesses said that I went at least three hundred metres through the air."

"Three hundred metres? Kimi can't believe that."

"Seriously. You should have seen the blood then. That's a puddle. What was coming out of me was an entire ocean."

"Don't lie, Kakeru! Girls can never take seriously a boy who lies."

"My Komaki, she takes me seriously, and she'll back me-"

"Don't you think someone should get the nurse?" A quieter voice, one which Yuki could instantly match with a face. Machi. His heart, speeding already from his collapse, fluttered slightly. He wished she'd come closer.

"You're right, Machi, you're right!" Kakeru said loudly, his voice dominating over hers, "I will humbly volunteer!"

"No, no, Kimi will go! Yun-Yun's blood is making Kimi feel icky."

"We'll both go. Machi will stay with Yun-Yun." Kakeru decided. "Don't do anything to him while he's unconscious, though, will you Machi? Just because he's a guy, doesn't mean it's not still a crime."

Machi didn't respond, but he wanted to smile just at the thought of the disgusted look that would undoubtedly be plastered over her features. He heard the pair's footsteps on the grass as they left, back in the direction of the school. It sounded unnaturally loud to his ears, but he wasn't sure if he was just getting muddled with the blood pounding in his ears at the same time.

"President?" Machi was closer, though her voice was quieter. He could hear the faint rustle of her uniform as she knelt beside were his head lay. "Can you open your eyes?"

He tried to make a sound, something as a response, but it came out as little more than a "Mppf."

"It's okay. You're conscious. That's good."

It was a struggle to open his eyes at first, every time he tried just a little, the light seemed utterly blinding. It felt as if his brain itself were recoiling at the sunshine. After several tries, and eventually braving the painful light for a matter of seconds, it eased, and he could see again, although the world still seemed slightly too bright.

"Are you okay?" She asked, leaning over him slightly, bringing her face more into his view as his head would allow him little movement but to look up at the afternoon sky.

"I'm okay." He mumbled out, glad that he was comprehendible.

"Do you know what happened?"

"Kakeru." It sounded like a growl emitted from him, although he hadn't intended it that way. Yuki was surprised by the sudden sound of Machi giving a shy, but genuine, laugh. In all the time he'd known her, he didn't think he'd ever heard her make such an adorable sound.

She regained her composure, as if guilty for letting it slip.

"Do you think you've broken anything? Can you move your arms and legs?"

He shifted both his legs slightly, in turn. They both seemed to work still. He experimentally raised both his arms an inch or so off the ground, then let them fall once again. His left hand, the one closest to Machi, fell onto something warm. Skin, human skin beneath his own. Almost immediately, he saw Machi's face blush the colour of cherry blossoms in full bloom. She made to pull her own hand away, embarrassed, but was stopped by his fingers curling, filling the spaces between her own.

The warmth of the contact was reassuring, reminding him that he was still alive. Kakeru's stupidity hadn't finished him off. Not this time at least.

Machi looked away from where she had been staring at their hands, bemused and transfixed, her eyes falling once again onto his face. The blush remained, but her eyes were soft, the exact colour of a fresh batch of toffee.

"The nurse will be here any moment." She mumbled.

"Stay. Can you? Can you stay with me?"

"She'll probably just take you to the medical room and clean up the cut on your head." Machi said slowly, "You'll be okay."

"Please stay." He repeated, the words feeling foreign. It was what his mind was repeating over and over, but he didn't know why he was allowing his mouth to vocalise them.

She didn't respond for a moment, looking away. "If you… If you want me there, President, I'll be there."

He smiled, his eyes meeting hers. Neither broke the silence, there were words being passed that would only be cheapened if they were said.

Yuki knew then that there was no way he was going to allow himself to graduate, even though it was only mere months away, without letting this girl, this beautiful, special, one-of-a-kind girl, know what he had been fighting with within himself for months. That he needed her, he wanted her by his side, he wanted to be able to tell her how much she meant to him, how much she'd helped him, changed him for the better. He wanted permission to be able to hold her hand when they walked together, to wipe away her tears when she cried, to kiss her and tell her how much he wanted her. Maybe to even be allowed to hold her without being ashamed. He knew he could not just let her go.

Their moment of silent understanding was broken by Kimi calling: "This way!" and Kakeru making ambulance noises, a poor and overworked looking nurse in tow.

"Thank you." He said, giving Machi a small smile.


	7. Misunderstanding

**This chapter is completely random, and I have no idea where it came from. The prompt, 'misunderstanding' is a really good one, and surely lots of well thought out ideas would come from it? Nope. This is what I got. & warning: It's pure mush :) Oh, and this is set on Valentine's Day which was... ages ago. Sorry about that :P **

**Thanks for the reviews, guys!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fruits Basket.**

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**Misunderstanding**

"Ah, Valentine's Day." Kakeru leaned back on the legs of his chair, causing it to rock dangerously.

"Don't do that, idiot!" Naohito yelled, "I'm not spending my evening filling out an accident report form for you if you crack your skull open!"

"Calm it, Chibi-suke." He replied, though moving the chair back onto all four legs. "And does this mean that your evening, your _Valentine's Day _evening, has plans?"

"Don't be stupid! And I don't have to tell you what I do outside of the school council, anyway!"

"Hmm, a date then…" Kakeru murmured, as if in deep thought, "Little Chibi-suke… they grow up so fast…" He eyed the boy, "Not literally, in your case, I suppose."

Naohito's face instantly flamed an angry red. "What is it with you and your… your hatred of short people?! Don't we deserve respect too? Do you think, because we're short, we won't fight back? Easy prey?!"

"Um, I think we should try and keep it down a bit." Yuki interjected at this point, seeing the argument escalating.

"Exactly. Nao, have some respect for the people around you." Kakeru said with genuine smugness, as if he had just won a particularly intellectually challenging debate.

Before Naohito had a chance to retaliate, the door of the student council room was flung open, Kimi barging in. Her arms were full of boxes, in various shades of pink and purple, all tied with ribbons.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Kimi said happily, twirling around in her excitement, sending a couple of boxes off balance. "Kimi's been very busy distributing chocolates, which is why she is a teeny weeny bit late."

The clock on the wall over the door disagreed with 'a teeny weeny bit', but nobody pointed it out. It was hardly unusual.

"Who have you been giving them to?" Kakeru asked eagerly, jumping up. "Are there any for me?"

"Don't be silly, Kakerruuuu-kuuun." Kimi said in a high-pitched tone, "These are all chocolates from Kimi," She indicated to the twenty or so boxes, "That she is giving to her most devoted admirers only."

"You know, Kimi, you should only really give chocolates to one special person." Yuki pointed out, "Then that person is your Valentine."

"It's okay, Yun-Yun," Kimi said, smiling sweetly, "Kimi has enough love in her heart for ALL of the good-looking and rich boys in the school to be her Valentines."

"That's not… really what I meant." He knew he was fighting a battle that could never be won.

"You're such a traditionalist, Yuki." Kakeru said happily, "You've got to get with the times. Girls these days give chocolates to as many boys as they fancy. It gives them more chance of getting a boyfriend that way."

"What about Komaki-san?" Yuki asked, slightly teasingly, "Does she give chocolates to many men, too?"

Kakeru took it in upmost seriousness.

"Absolutely not! We're in a devoted relationship, so it's different. She's OBLIGED to give me chocolates, and FORBIDDEN to give anything to anyone else." He grinned to himself at the thought, then brought himself back to the present. "But no girls without boyfriends only give one boy chocolates. That'd just be weird."

"That's not true, Kakeru-kun!" Kimi, scowling as if personally offended, shouted suddenly, causing even Naohito, who had become immune to their loud and insistent voices to look up, "Machi only gave chocolates to one boy this year, and she doesn't have even one boyfriend."

"Machi gave someone chocolates?!" Kakeru asked excitedly. "Who-?" He turned to 180 degrees to face Yuki, who was seated behind a desk.

"Yuki! You never said! How could you keep something like this from me, your best pal?!"

"What?" Yuki said, looking up, a slight frown on his forehead, "Machi didn't give me any chocolates…"

"Huh?" Kakeru looked genuinely shocked. "But Kimi just said-"

"It wasn't Yun-Yun she gave them to, Kakeru-kun! Kimi saw her give them to another boy, one of Yun-Yun's relatives."

"What?!" Yuki's attention was fully grasped.

"Yes. Kimi doesn't know him, but he's a Sohma."

"The orange-top?" Kakeru asked.

Yuki stood up in an instant as if 500 volts had just been charged through him.

"Kyo?!" He demanded, "Machi gave Valentine's chocolates to Kyo?!"

"Uh, Yuki, I think you'd better sit down," Kakeru leaned over and pushed his shoulder, so he fell back into a stunned sitting position. "You look like you're going to hurl, or pass out or something."

"See what you've done, Kakeru-kun?" Kimi said, "You've made Yun-Yun sick. It wasn't the orange-top, anyway."

Almost instantly a touch of colour washed back into Yuki's face.

"This boy, he isn't Kimi's type at all." She continued, "He's very little, littler than Naohito-kun even," There was a growl from Naohito's general direction, "and blonde! He's very cute, but not what Kimi would call a real man."

"Momiji? Machi gave chocolates to Momiji?" Yuki looked slightly disturbed at the thought, but Kakeru was utterly aghast.

"Who gave this _Momiji _boy the right to seduce Machi, and steal her away from Prince Yun-Yun?!"

"You're making it sound like some kind of fairytale." Naohito said gruffly, still working diligently on the council papers.

"I'm sure… I mean, it…" Yuki stopped, at a loss for words. "At least it's not Kyo." He finished lamely.

The door to the council room opened once again, and Machi walked in, her face as unreadable as ever. The excitement that seemed to touch all girls, and most of the boys, on Valentine's Day didn't seem to have affected her.

"Machi!" Kakeru yelled immediately, "What do you think you're-"

Yuki stood up and tapped Kakeru's shoulder, inviting him to turn around.

"Leave it. Don't embarrass her. It's none of our business." He said quietly, hoping Machi wouldn't hear, and Kakeru wouldn't feel the urge to parrot what he just said in a loud voice that people on the other side of Tokyo would catch.

He was lucky. Within a few minutes, everyone seemed to have settled down somewhat, and the work of the school council finally began to get started.

The entire school council (with the exception of Kimi, who apparently had a 'dentist's appointment') ended up staying over an hour late after school. The sky outside was greying by the time the work they had done that day was sufficient.

"I'd better be going." Kakeru said cheerfully, apparently Machi's Valentine's chocolates wiped from his mind, "I promised I'd take Komaki out for dinner. There's this reeaallllyyy good steakhouse just opened, and-"

"Just go!" Naohito said impatiently, trying to move Kakeru from where he was blocking the doorway.

"See you tomorrow, Yun-Yun, Machi!" He called, as Naohito shoved him down the corridor.

Yuki started putting on his coat, even though his desk was still in a slight state of disarray. There seemed little point tidying it, it'd just get messy again.

"President…" Machi said, and Yuki looked up. She was standing close in front of his desk. "I have-"

Her words were cut off by the door banging open.

"Machi!" Nobody could misidentify that happy, excitable voice. Momiji bounced into the room, clad, as ever, in the girls' uniform. He wore a big grin on his face.

"MachiMachiMachi!" He squealed, hopping over to her, and taking her hand without hesitation. Only then did he notice anyone else in the room. "Oh! Guten abend, Yuki!"

"Momiji." Yuki greeted, "What are you doing here?" He deliberately didn't glance at his and Machi's intertwined hands.

"Oh, um," He glanced over at Machi, "Did I do bad, Machi?" He asked suddenly, "I should've checked to see he'd left. Es tut mir leid."

"I-it doesn't matter." She stumbled, "It's Valentine's Day today, so… He should know now."

"Can I tell him?"

She nodded, looking nervous. Yuki felt his stomach drop. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear it.

"I know." He said, looking away.

"Huh?!" Momiji said, "But… we've kept it really hushed up… I thought… only the two of us knew." He looked mournful.

"Kimi saw." He said, with unexpected bitterness. He knew he was probably overreacting, after all, he had no claim on Machi. She was free to date whoever she liked, even if that person was his younger relative…

"Then… you don't like it?"

Yuki looked up at the pair incredulously. Both of them were looking at him as if he were reacting strangely.

He breathed deeply. He didn't know why this was affecting him so deeply, or why his airways felt restricted.

"No… It's fine. It's got nothing to do with me. If you two want to date, that's absolutely fine. I just don't want to be brought into it."

There was a silence, then Momiji broke into laughs that sounded like he was straining his lungs. Tears were on his cheeks. He clearly found something hysterical. Never before in the past had Yuki had much of a problem with Momiji, he didn't find him anywhere near as irritating as Kyo did, yet at that moment, the urge to hit the little rabbit was almost too much. At least Machi wasn't laughing too. Yuki glanced over her face, as he packed up his things, ready to leave the room without civil 'goodbyes', and was surprised to see how mortified she looked.

He may have stopped then, given them a little more chance to explain, if not for Momiji, still clutching his sides, breaking into a fresh batch of laughter.

He cleared the council room in a few long strides, and was about to storm down the corridor in a similar fashion, when he came face to face with one of the most hideous looking things he had ever seen. It took a second for him to comprehend what it was he was looking at.

Leant against the wall directly beside the door to the council room was a scarecrow. The size of a real human, it's was over-stuffed with straw, had angry features drawn on its head with black marker pen, and was clothed in a jumble sale of different colours and patterns. Around its neck was tied a scarf with a faint Mogeta pattern still visible.

"See?" Momiji said. He hadn't even noticed him and Machi exit the room. "Good, isn't he?"

Yuki glanced from the ugly creation to Momiji, and back again.

"You made him?"

"We made him." He said happily. "Me and Machi. For you."

"For me? What?"

"We thought… maybe… a scarecrow would be useful in your garden… so the seeds don't get eaten, but if you don't like it, it doesn't ma-" Machi said. Her face was burning red.

"No, I do like it, I just…" Something in his head clicked. "This is all a big mix-up, isn't it?" It felt as if a weight had just been lifted from his chest.

Momiji laughed. "We're not dating, if that's what you mean. We're partners in Biology, and I asked Machi if she was going to make chocolates for someone on Valentine's Day, and she said no, but she was going to make something else, so I asked what, and she said a scarecrow, and I asked who for, and she said-"

"Okay, Momiji." Yuki said, "You'll hyperventilate if you don't slow down a bit." He paused, as the rabbit smiled at him.

"So this is your Valentine's gift from Machi to you!" He concluded, evidently incredibly happy with himself from the way he was hopping up and down on the spot. He moved towards Yuki, dragging Machi along with him. With his free hand, he took up one of Yuki's, and, bringing Machi closer still, until both she and Yuki glanced away from each other in embarrassment. Momiji pulled his two hands together, Machi's hand being forced into Yuki's. The three of them stayed like that for a couple of seconds, until Momiji was reassured that neither was going to pull away. He released his grasp steadily, until it was just Yuki and Machi holding hands with each other.

In an instant, the rabbit was gone, laughing as he darted up the corridor, and around the corner. Without a doubt, he would be at Shigure's house when Yuki got home, retelling the story to Tohru, who would no doubt find it heart-warming.

"Happy… Valentine's, Yuki." Machi said, embarrassed, staring intently at the scarecrow, rather than at Yuki.

He smiled, turning his head from the ugly scarecrow, to the blushing girl in front of him. Without a doubt, he adored them both. "Happy Valentine's."

* * *

**NOTES: Okay, reading over this, I realised there are a couple of things that weren't really explained, and so, because I'm not sure where I'd fit them in in that actual text, I'll put them here! **

**1. Momiji helped Machi with the scarecrow because I see them as being kind of friends. Natsuki Takaya said in one of the sidebar things in the manga that she thought Machi would eventually become friends with Haru and Momiji, and I just think Momiji and Machi would be a particularly adorable duo. I think Momiji would have volunteered to help, rather than Machi asking him for it, but she would probably have been grateful. Building a scarecrow is definitely a two man job.**

**2. What Kimi saw was right. Machi did give chocolates to Momiji, but they weren't Valentine's chocolates, they were a thank-you gift, as Momiji likes candy so much, it seemed appropriate. It was probably just a bit short-sighted of Machi to give them on Valentine's Day, it was bound to create gossip. but it was essential for the plot of the chapter, so they we go :D**

**I'm going to try in future to never need extra notes at the bottom of a chapter again :( **

**& now I'm tempted to write Momiji and Machi ficcage. *suppresses self* :D**


	8. Young

**I had some serious writer's block on this one. I have no idea why. I tried at least half a dozen different ideas, but none of them came to more than a few paragraphs of drivel. I think I'm in a bit of a rut. I'm not particularly proud of this part, but it's the best I could do at the moment. I want to come up with something extra inspired next time to make up for this chapter. Any ideas are always welcome! **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fruits Basket. If I did, I'd give Machi/Yuki there own volume of manga. Or maybe a spin-off series. **

* * *

Young

"I'm going to… miss you." Machi said quietly.

They were seated at the low table in her messy apartment. This was the last time. She had no idea when he was going to be here again. Never again like this, though. From tomorrow onwards, he would be a college student. A grown up. A member of society. And what would she be? Machi. Just Machi, the high school senior.

"I'll miss you, too, Machi." He replied. His smiles were so warm now. So real. They made her heart, girlish though it was, pick up the pace just a little. "But I'll call every day."

"You can't do that." She protested, silently hoping that he very much would.

"I will. Every day. Until you're sick of me, and stop picking up my calls." He laughed, running a thumb over her cheek.

"That won't happen."

"And don't forget the visits." As if she would. He wasn't even gone, and already she had it marked in her head when his first visit was planned. "And you can visit me, too, whenever you want."

She nodded, clutching the key to his apartment that he had given her. The brass bit into the flesh of her fingers.

"And you'll stay with me when you come to look around the college next year?" She knew her chances of getting into his college were very slim. It was prestigious. Rich families in Japan fought to get their spoilt children places. Although her grades were consistently high, she wasn't optimistic, or deluded, enough to think it would be enough. But it was okay. There was another, far more low-key, college close by that Kakeru's girlfriend, Komaki, had told her about. One of her friends studied there. Machi was suspicious that Kakeru had asked Komaki to tell her about it. He, too, knew she wasn't going to get a place at Yuki's college, yet he was determined, it seemed, to see their relationship develop into full bloom, whatever that was in practical terms. He'd make sure she studied somewhere where she'd be close to Yuki, even if it meant he physically forced her to write the application forms.

"There's another college I want to look around, too." She said. "It has some courses I'm interested in."

" Is it close to mine?"

She nodded. "Komaki-san told me that it was probably only about 20 minutes away from yours."

"So you'll still be able to live with me if you go there instead?"

There was a moment of silence. "L-live with you?" She said, slightly stunned. They had been 'dating' for just over three weeks. It seemed irresponsible to plan so far into the future.

"Oh," Was he blushing slightly, "I assumed that's what you meant… when you said you wanted to study near to me?"

"I just meant… so we could see each other… sometimes."

"So you don't want to…?"

"I-I didn't say that." She was most definitely blushing. Only Yuki could fluster her quite so much. She didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

Yuki sighed, not in irritation, but as a sound of relaxation.

"Do you think we're moving too fast?" He asked.

"I'm not sure." She knew what was holding her back from jumping on his offer. It wasn't how fast their relationship was growing at all. She wanted it. She wanted it all with him. It was past experience that had her chained. She scared, terrified, that if she invested her all into this, it would snap back at her, hitting her back to a place she couldn't even imagine how she'd crawl back from.

"Then… I'm sorry I assumed. I want you to be sure." There was a moment's silence. "Shall I ask you? Ask you properly? Officially? Like I should have done?"

She didn't know what to say. She knew if she accepted then that was it. If something came up, if something messed it up… How many hopes could you have thrashed before you just couldn't bring yourself to hope anymore?

"Kuragi Machi," He said, sounding each syllable of her name. "Would you do me the great honour of, when you come to university, having passed your exams with flying colours, will you do me the honour of sharing the same living space as me?" He was smiling, his face teasing at his 'proposal'. Yet his eyes weren't glinting, they were boring into her own. He wanted this. So did she. What was the problem?

"Are you… are you sure it wouldn't be irresponsible?" She said quietly. She didn't want to hurt him with her worries.

He leaned back on his hands, relaxed.

"Maybe. Maybe it would be. We probably haven't thought about it carefully enough. We haven't weighed up the pros and cons. We don't even know if we'll be able to stand each other's TV show choices," He was grinning at her, she let herself have a small smile, "But I want to live with you, and if you want to live with me, too," She nodded once, quickly, "then why shouldn't we? You only get to be young and reckless once."

"Then," She started. She had to do this. She had to let herself _have _this. "I would… I would like to live with you next year."

He smiled. She had a suspicion that he knew all along that's what her final decision would be. He also knew that she'd need some persuading.

He reached an arm over to her slowly, and around her shoulders, pulling her against his chest.

"Here's to riskiness and irresponsibility."


	9. Freefalling

**I like this part, it was a lot of fun to write. I don't know why I enjoy inner-thought theatres so much. I guess I realized that I haven't written much from Yuki's perspective in this fic, so here's my take on his thoughts during volume 22 of the manga, just before he calls her to arrange a meeting with her (so spoiler alert for V.22, I guess) I'd love to hear what you guys think of this part, j'adore hearing your feedback :) Ooh, advanced warning: This part's sappy enough to make a tree blush...**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fruits Basket. That's the lovely Natsuki Takaya's exclusive privilege.**

**Freefall**

I know the danger all too well. It makes my stomach flip just to think about it. I want to tell you, tell you so many things, but would you want to listen? I hope some of the words I speak would make you love me, but more would make you hate me.

I see you. I watch you. You struggle through, trying to survive the real world. Could I be so unforgivably selfish as to throw what you think of as 'reality' into question? If I told you, if I showed you the secret, the curse, could I really expect you to not hate me? To not fear me? I can see you don't view the world like most people. You're breathtakingly perceptive. But could I burden you with my curse? Surely then, it would become a curse for you, too.

Those children, my friends, from when I was only little, they had to have their memories erased, because of what I accidentally showed them. They didn't know me after that. We weren't friends anymore. I was left with an aching hole, as if something had been stolen from me. Maybe it had. I'd been left with less than I had started with. Could I go through that again, with you? Even if you didn't forget, maybe you'd reject me completely. I don't know which would be worse.

For so many months I've watched Honda-san and the Cat. I've played it out in my mind. We could be like that. They're separate bodies, but their souls and hearts are intertwined. Do they know everything about each other? Probably not, but they know enough. They know what's important, and their hearts are ever-open to learn more. Maybe we could have that too, if not for this curse. That's where Kyo is at the advantage. Honda-san knows. She's known for so long, yet never once has she judged any one of us because of it. It hasn't tainted her view of us or the world. He has nothing to hide from her anymore. He'll never have to see shock, fear, accusation in her eyes because of him, because of what he is. For that, I'm eternally jealous of the downtrodden Cat.

So here I sit, alone in the house that was, until recently, bustling with life. My phone sits on the table in front of me. It wouldn't take a moment. A quick search through my phonebook, though I'm well on my way to knowing your number by heart, and the deed would be done. But once I've done it, I can't undo it, and that frightens me into the indecisive rut I'm bogged down in.

Is it worth the risk? It's going to be all or nothing. There couldn't be a middle ground. If it falls through, we couldn't go back to the relationship we have now. We'd both be acting, holding onto a friendship that was destroyed by fear and rejection. Neither of us would want to live through that. If it's rejection, it would be better to not see each other again. We'd pass in the corridor in my last few weeks of school. We'd avoid direct conversation during the student council. Then I would leave, and that would be it. Years from now, maybe you'd still look back, and remember me, but I would just be a memory then. No more real than an actor playing a part on TV. Is taking this risk worth all that?

Maybe you'd be offended by me thinking of you this way. Maybe I'm underestimating you. You're very different from Honda-san in so many ways, but maybe, at the core, there are similarities. You have a real kindness, you see beyond what meets the eye.

I don't know if I should let myself think about what could happen. If I showed you and… somehow, sometime, you came to accept to. To accept me. Could that happen? After a lifetime of always knowing that my true self would be strange, frightening, repulsive to others, to have someone accept me to the point of choosing me over all others to lend their heart to… I want that. I want to bear my true self out, open and vulnerable, to you, and with everything I have, I hope that you'll find a way to accept it. To accept me. To want me as well.

I pick up my phone, and find your name. I press the green 'call' button, and there's no going back. I don't want to. I have to do this. Give myself this chance.

As the phone rings rhythmically. Once. Twice. Again. I know that I'm falling, falling without support and without wings now. I've truly pushed myself over the edge, and I won't be able to climb back up. But I'm willing to take this risk. You're my gravity, pulling me fast. You have insurmountable power over me now, from the moment when you answer your phone with your cautionary "Hello?" that makes my heart skip a beat. You can let me fall full impact, kill me stone dead as I hit the ground, or you can let me fall steadily, let me land safe. However you react, whether your heart allows me in or not, it's irreversible that I've fallen in love.

* * *


	10. Caravan

**I don't like this part. The prompt was evil I've decided (nope, definitely not my lack of imagination's fault) Feel free to breeze over this and think of it as a filler until I get something good up XD Thanks to the amazing people who reviewed the last chapter, I'm glad it seemed to be okay! & thanks for reading!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fruits Basket. **

**Caravan**

The clouds merged into disfigured shapes above their heads. At first glance stationary, it is only when watched with close, attentive eyes that their movement become traceable, as they make a slow but definite pace across the sky. By the dawn of tomorrow, they will be gracing the sky of another country, far away, places that those tiny humans underneath them at that moment could only peruse glossy photographs of in magazines, and dream of in their minds, where the realities of everyday life have no place.

"Do you know what the closest humans can get to the freedom that clouds have is?" Yuki asked, his eyes gazing on the skies above where he lay. He turned his head to face the brown haired girl laying close at his side, her hand resting in his, her eyes seemed far off, as if she were seeing beyond what was above them. His question seemed to bring her back to reality, however.

"An airplane?"

"Nope." He grinned, a type of smile far from his princely upturns of the mouth that he had always used at school. Machi liked it much better. It was unrestrained and real, a choice not a chore.

She rolled over onto her side, leaving her hand where it was, within his grasp. Her face only inches from his, she didn't attempt another guess.

"What, then?"

"A caravan." He said.

"A caravan?"

"You can go anywhere in the world, and you don't need to worry about packing up every time you want to move on, because you've got everything you need always with you."

Neither said anything for a moment. The sounds of insects and birds revelling in the new-found warmth of spring filled the dreamy silence.

"Maybe. But clouds don't get punctures."

Yuki laughed, and turned his head back to the blue sky.

"Yuki… do you want to travel, then? Maybe you could take a year out of university. I guess you shouldn't let Ayame-san know, though. He probably wouldn't let you go."

"Yeah. Or he'd insist on coming too." Yuki smiled at the thought. He seemed to have grown far warmer feelings for his brother after his graduation from high school. It seemed to coincide with him not having to see him nearly as much.

"But do you really want to go?" She asked. She herself had never thought about travelling. The portion of the world that she herself lived in seemed so unconquerably large that it seemed irresponsible to go and discover just how humongous the entire world could be.

"I don't know." Yuki said after a moment, "It'd be nice to see the world. It'd be an adventure, but…" He trailed off, lost in his own thoughts.

"I think caravans are better than clouds." Machi said after a moment, "They can do what clouds can't. Clouds can't stop. It doesn't matter if they love where they are, if they'd be happy there forever. They have to keep going, they don't have a choice."

"Whereas, in a caravan, if you find somewhere you want to be your home, you don't have to go any further." He finished her thought for her.

They lay together silently for some moments, a gentle breeze tickling through their hair at random intervals, blowing Machi's long hair so it mingled with a few of Yuki's silver-blue strands. The air was rich and sweet with the smell of freshly cut grass. Scatterings of daisies littered the entire area around the pair, and Machi thought absently about making a daisy chain later, before brushing the idea to the side on her recollecting her pitifully short and squashed attempts made during the summer times of her entire elementary school career.

"Hey, Machi?" Yuki said, his voice had lost the slight drowsy dreaminess it had had before. "On your next holiday from school, do you want to go somewhere together?"

Machi sat up, looking down on Yuki where he lay.

"You mean like take a holiday together?"

"Mmm." He affirmed.

She paused, wondering how to question what exactly this holiday would entail, without sounding rude.

"Would we be going… would it involve renting… a caravan?" She asked cautiously.

He laughed.

"It might. Would that be a problem?" His tone was teasing. He'd already sussed that it _would_ be a problem_. _

"It's not… I… I just don't see why… people would want to sleep and eat in the outside, when there are perfectly good _buildings _you can sleep and eat in. That way, you're not exposed to the rain, and bugs and things as well… I guess I just don't like the outside for anything more than visiting now and again."

"Machi, we wouldn't be _outside_" He emphasized the word, "We'd be in a caravan!" She could see from her vantage point that his eyes were glinting. He was joking. It was okay. She was not going to have to spend her summer in a caravan it seemed. Wouldn't have to suffer through damp, cold and cockroaches.

"Please, I don't mind where we go, so long as we can just stay in a hotel."

"You might like camping if you tried it."

"Have you ever tried it?" She asked doubtfully. She could hardly imagine any member of the prestigious Sohma family engaging in a holiday as cost-cutting as camping.

"No…" He paused for a moment, "A hotel it is, then?"

"Mm." She nodded. She let herself fall back into a lying position beside him.

"Caravans and travelling could be fun and exciting," Yuki decided after a minute. Machi felt his grip on her hand tighten, his thumb drawing erratic patterns on her wrist. "But to be honest, I think I'd rather stay right here."

* * *


	11. Jealous

**Hi! It's been a while. I'm quite a bit happier with this part than I was with the last. This idea struck me, and I just really like it, so I thought I'd get it down. I've pretty much given up following promots now - I found it was just hindering my writing to be honest, so I'm doing my own thing now. I'm determined to get 101 chapters to this, even if it kills me!**

**Just a note: Machi is kind of OOC I feel. Sorry :( **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't thiiink I own Fruits Basket. Probably.**

**Jealous**

Glossy hair the exact shade of the waning moon. Eyes like orbs, framed by feminine lashes, with indefinable depth. A voice, soft and gentle, which never seemed to utter a harsh word. A personality that was exactly that of a fairytale prince.

It didn't take a lot of work to realise why Yuki was adored as much as he was. Girls flocked to him. He was exactly the kind of boy that their mothers had always told them didn't really exist outside of cheesy American romance movies.

For every project, he was never in want of a partner. He would always be immediately swarmed by eager girls, each one desperate for the opportunity of time alone with their 'prince'.

Whenever he walked into a classroom, a soon as his presence was noticed, the eyes of every female was upon him, ravishing him mentally.

This admiration that he received was in no way limited to school. The same happened whenever Machi went anywhere with him. As they walked, hand in hand, women's eyes would fall upon the unlikely couple. Sometimes, she believed that they weren't actually seeing the both of them. She was dimmed into complete obscurity by the light of beauty that hung around his whole body like a halo.

This didn't bother her a great deal, if she was honest with herself. He was beautiful, she more than fully saw and loved that in him, but he was far deeper than just some should-be male model. She'd known as she had taken the plunge of becoming the girlfriend of the most popular boy in Kaibara High that it wouldn't change the amount of female attention he received. She also knew that he was dependable, and wouldn't be swayed by the excessive adoration, and therefore hadn't even contemplated feeling jealous of the crushes so many of her peers seemed to harbour on her boyfriend.

***

"Kuragi-san?" She turned at the sound of her name. Yuki was on a break from college, and so had suggested that they meet at this obscure-but-friendly coffee house not far from Machi's apartment. It gave them a seclusion that they might not have had in one of the larger cafes of Tokyo, where the likelihood of someone they knew coming in and intruding was greatly increased. This was why Machi was quite shocked to have turned to be confronted with a face that she recognized.

"Sato-san?"

He looked exactly the same as he always had, even though he was a good few inches taller than when she had last seen him.

"Oh, good, it is you! I was wondering what I was going to say if it turned out I had got the wrong person!" His smile was warm and genuine. He never let his eyes fall from Machi's. He didn't appear to have noticed that Machi was not alone at the table.

Yuki felt prompted to clear his throat and say something.

"Oh, are you an acquaintance of Machi's?" He asked. The boy turned towards him.

"Yeah. We were in middle school together."

"Oh, really?" Yuki felt an odd sense of relief. Just an old school friend.

The boy turned back to Machi, and laughed with a hint of embarrassment.

"She was my first love."

Both Machi and Yuki started at this.

"E-excuse me?" Machi stuttered.

"I didn't ever tell you then. I was too shy. I was sure you'd reject me, so I kept it to myself." He was still smiling. "It's funny, isn't it? The crushes you get on people at school. You know, I've even thought from time to time what would have happened if we had somehow ended up going out together."

Yuki had the sudden urge to stand in front of Machi, arms flayed out, acting as a barrier between this boy and her. Rationally he knew he was being silly. After all, as the boy himself had said, it was a school-time crush… But still, bringing it up now…

"Oh." Seemed about as much as Machi could manage as a vocal response. She looked utterly shell-shocked.

"Hey," The boy said, "I've got to go now, I'm meeting up with some friends in town, but…" He fished a pen out of his pocket and scribbled something on a napkin. "Here. Call me, maybe we could meet up sometime." With one last smile, a wink, and a flourish, he was gone, the door of the coffee shop tinkling shut behind him.

The pair left at the table stayed in silence for a moment.

"Are you… going to call him?" Yuki asked slowly, not entirely sure whether he was being slightly overprotective by wanting to kick that boy's jolly face into the sun.

"Of course I'm n…" She stopped, and eyed him, taking in his facial expression. He wasn't quite sure what that was, but he doubted if it was good. Something foreign emerged on her face. A _smirk. _He'd never seen such an evil look on his girlfriend's usually kind-but-reserved face.

"Yuki-senpai, are you… jealous?"

"Of course I'm not!" He denied immediately, "I just… you never know, he might be… you haven't seen him in so long… he could be dangerous, and you…" He trailed off, letting his eyes fall to his coffee cup. He doubted he could look Machi in the eye without turning seven shades of red.

Machi was silent for a moment, but he sensed that she wasn't suffering the same embarrasement that he was. Was she _enjoying _his discomfort?

"If you promise to not go out and hunt him down," Machi said, half-jokingly, "Then I won't call him."

"Otherwise… you would?"

"Hmm." She said, as if considering. Her hand suddenly darted for the napkin with the phone-number. She scrunched it up, and placed it into her cup, where it soaked up the remnants of her coffee. Yuki could barely suppress a smile.

"No." She said, laughing slightly. "He was just a boy from school. Everyone knows that boys from school never make good boyfriends in the long run."

He looked up at this. She was smiling at him, her face joking, but her eyes warm. She reached out and took his hand.

"But I guess there's exceptions."

**Random notes:**

**1. I used a bit of creative license in terms of this guy and Machi in middle school. I didn't mean to make it seem like she was completely different from how she is in high school, but it may come across like that? I personally believe she was pretty much the same then, she kept herself to herself and didn't know how to be open with people. But I just like the idea that, despite all that, Yuki is not the only admirer she's ever had XD**

**2. Machi calls Yuki 'senpai' at one point. They're very close, so in theory they should just be on first names, but I think it's cute for her to address him with a bit of added respect :P That's the only reason I did that. To make myself squee :D**


	12. Don't Sit On The Radiator

**Yep, the chapter after saying that I'm not writing to prompts anymore, what did I go and do? I just really like this prompt. I saw it, and immediately thought 'Kakeru.' Although I'm sure I remember him using the correct phrase somewhere in the manga... or did I dream that? XD But anyway, I hope you enjoy. I enjoyed writing it a lot :P I think Kakeru is just a lot of fun to both read and write.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't REALLY own Fruits Basket. I just pretend. **

*******

**Don't Sit On The Radiator**

"You know what?" Kakeru said, blowing a thoughtful bubble with his neon blue bubblegum. "I'm tired of this."

Both Machi and Yuki, the only other occupants of the student council room, looked up, Yuki with interest, Machi with resigned cynicism.

"I already said, if you want, you can just go home. The work's almost done now, anyway. I'm sure me and Machi can tie up the last few bits."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Kakeru said with sudden power, "If I just left you alone with my baby sister? Well, pal, I'll have you know I'll never leave Machi to the perils of perverts like you!" He kicked the desk in front of him, as if to show his conviction and force. It knocked him off balance, and he fell from where he had been slouching in his chair, onto the hard floor.

"Yet you're more than willing to subject her to your stupidity…" Yuki rolled his eyes, as Kakeru picked himself up, and placed himself back into his former position in his chair.

"Here, Machi, don't be scared by this violent pervert! He's just so constantly angry because his butt is burning!"

"Excuse me?" Yuki asked, with admirable composure.

"You're getting third degree burns on your behind!" Kakeru announced triumphantly.

"Manabe, stop saying stupid things to the president." Machi said.

Yuki felt a small shoot of adrenaline in his chest. He couldn't remember Machi standing up for him before. Although he felt himself very well practiced in dealing with Kakeru, it was undeniably sweet of her.

Yuki couldn't help but give her a small smile.

"Ugh! _This _is exactly what I'm so tired of, and I'm sure your butt thinks the same. This is getting _old._"

"_What?" _Yuki said, trying to keep the rising frustration out of his voice. If Kakeru picked up on it, it would only encourage him. It was just like trying to have a sane conversation with Ayame.

"_This! _You and my little sister! I mean, enough's enough, right? It's cute to start with, but after a while, all that radiator sitting's going to do nothing but cause burns!"

"Radiator sitting?" Both Yuki and Machi repeat.

"Yeah, you both know what I'm talking about!" He said loud enough for at least half of Tokyo to hear, "There's no point trying to deny it."

"The expression…" Machi started, through a clenched jaw, it seemed, "Is fence sitting."

"And we're not sitting on the fence, anyway." Yuki said, giving Machi a brief nod, which she returned.

"Ha! Tell that to me at your wedding! You're wedding which, if you keep on at this rate, won't happen until you're like… eighty!" He laughed, "Just get it together already!"

To save either party from having to form a dignified response, Kakeru's phone gave an annoying beep.

"Ah! That'll be Komaki! Gotta run!" He got up, and made his way with impressive rapidity to the door. "Make sure you think about everything I've said!" Kakeru demanded, as he headed out of the door. "You don't want to be trying on wedding clothes when you're all senile and wrinkly, do you?"

With that last image implanted into their minds, he left, shutting the door behind him. There was an uncomfortable silence left in his wake.

Machi had her head down, her brown hair acting as a curtain around her face. Somehow, though, Yuki guessed that her cheeks were burning the same alarming red colour that was spreading across his features…

Must be all the heat from that radiator.

* * *


	13. Something Fell From The Sky

**I wanted to try something different with this chapter. I don't think I've written any other part from anyone else's point of view yet? I wanted a kind of outside-looking-in perspective of their relationship. And who better than Tohru? I wrote this with the idea that this is just before she comes to know about Machi and Yuki, although she actually does know of 'Kuragi-san' after the gift at the hospital. I just assumed she wouldn't know her first name, so doesn't realise who it is XD WARNING: Yuki is, like, seriously girly in this chapter XD**

**DISCLAIMER: Didn't own it before. Don't own it now.**

* * *

**Something Fell From The Sky**

Tohru sighed contentedly as she walked the familiar path to Shigure's house, the place she had been calling home for years. She only had a couple more weeks left there now, though. She'd soon be moving far away with the man that she loved. It would be heart-wrenching to leave so many people she adored behind, but she knew that even more so she couldn't let Kyo go. She'd follow him to the edge of the Earth and back if she had to, not that he was asking anything quite so unreasonable from her. Still, she would rarely be able to see the other Sohmas, or Uo and Hana, once she had Kyo had moved. Just the thought made her eyes well up.

It was through teary eyes, blurring her vision, that she saw a piece of paper flutter from the sky, right into her path. She looked up to trace it's route. It looked like it had flown out of the open window of Yuki's room. She gasped, immediately imagining it to be a vital document to do with his prestigious college placement. She bent over to grab it, before the wind could steal it away further.

It was hardly in her nature to snoop, and it was only by accident, as she was straightening the paper out of its creased state, that she saw the slightly smudgy and scrawled handwriting on it. Small pictures were doodled in the margins.

The paper itself was nothing more than a list of supplies he would be needing for his college. A new calligraphy pen. Several notepads. A new book bag. A large collection of biros, something that Tohru had noticed he was rather adept at losing. She was relieved to see the relatively unimportant contents of the paper. She couldn't imagine that it would worry Yuki too much that his list was now a little muddy and dog-eared.

She was about to fold up the paper, when one of the doodles on the side of the paper caught her eye. Was that a _love heart? _Tohru couldn't help a smile grow on her face as she read what was written in uncharacteristically neat characters next to it. Machi. He'd written the single name several times over, in different styles. Calligraphy, bubble font, chicken scratch, one with smooth curves.

The warmness that Tohru felt in her heart at seeing this came both from seeing someone she cared about as deeply as Yuki having found his first love, and also from how easily she could relate. She had had plenty of times herself when she could think of nothing but that one person who held her heart, even when she had been trying to do something serious, such as work out the list for the weekly shopping trip. She had on several occasions ended up writing 'Kyo' instead of 'milk' or 'leeks'.

Below the writings of this unknown girl's name, he had pencilled the characters 'Sohma Machi' inside their very own heart doodle, that he had then lovingly cross-hatched with red pen.

Tohru folded the paper, not letting herself see his other illustrations. They weren't her business, and she wouldn't forgive herself for snooping. It would be a breakage of the trust that she and Yuki had so securely between them. Not that she wasn't very curious. But she had no choice but to placate her nosiness with the thought that he would tell her about this girl first-hand, when he himself was ready. It was far from her place to find out on her own.

Tohru headed into the house, pocketing the list to give to Yuki later, and wondering idly what she would cook for them the first time that he brought this 'Machi' girl home.


	14. Whistling Down The Street

**This was written with the idea from Lilyflower-314 to inject some Ayame into this fic. And let's be honest, what in life _isn't_ made better by the presence of the almight Aya? So, I stuck 'I'm Too Sexy' and 'Mr. Wonderful' on repeat, and wrote this XD Thanks to all the reviewers and readers!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fruits Basket. Or Ayame. Oh. :( **

**Whistling Down The Street**

"Thanks for getting this done, Machi."

"It's no problem." Machi shrugged modestly, sipping on the straw of her strawberry milkshake. The stack of papers lying in front of Yuki now, on the table of the café that they were sat in, said differently though. So much work much have taken her hours and hours. "Thanks for the drink." She said, as she finished the last drop. Strawberry had been her favourite ever since she had been very young.

She had been more than surprised when he had suggested that they go to a café when she had called him to tell him that the paperwork for the garden club that had been needing doing for months was finally finished. Usually, she tried to keep council work and home life separate, but she had noticed that the paperwork had been preying on his mind, and he simply hadn't got the time to do it. She had none of the obligations that plagued him, and so took it upon herself to finish the rather excessive amount of work herself.

"Anytime." He said, with a smile that would make any of his fangirls swoon. "It's nice to see you outside of school. And… away from Kakeru."

She blushed at this mention of her brother. Indeed, it had been particularly embarrassing with him over the past month or so. She and Yuki seemed unable to speak to one another without him twisting their words to become some sort of romantic innuendo.

"You know," A sudden bolt of inspiration hit Yuki, "My younger cousin mentioned the other day that there's a new Mogeta movie coming out?"

Machi's eyes seemed to spark to life at this, as she nodded with something that she rarely let the world see in her – genuine enthusiasm.

"It's out this Saturday." She said.

"Do you have any plans to go and see it?"

She deflated a little at this.  
"Manabe asked me to go with him and Komaki, but I don't know… it's awkward, I guess."

"Then… do you want to go with me?"

Both of them were blushing, and both of them were mentally scolding themselves for being so silly.

"Y-you like Mogeta, President?"

Yuki couldn't look Machi in the eye and lie about having any kind of warm feeling towards Mogeta. He barely understood the insanity of it, let alone liked it. However, he was saved from a response, by a sudden loud cry from close by in the café.

"Brother!" Yuki almost snapped his neck as he looked around. He knew the voice only too well.

"Aya-nii…" He said in a small voice.

"Ah, Yuki-kun, what a coincidence." Shigure appeared behind Ayame, as the two made their way over to Yuki and Machi's table. Even after seeing Ayame only once before, Machi had enough sense to look alarmed by his reappearance.

"How is this a coincidence? I told you at breakfast where I was going. After you hounded me about it for a solid hour." It was slightly admirable how comprehendible he remained even through gritted teeth.

Shigure laughed jovially, "So you did."

"Why, my brother, I could never have forgiven Shigure if he had _not_ discovered the location of your first date with a girlfriend!"

"This… this isn't a date. Machi was just giving me some work she has kindly done for the school council."

"I see." Ayame said, apparently not deterred at all. He went up to where Machi sat. She looked even more alarmed by his sudden proximity.

"My dear girl, please, fetch me a chair, so I may play spectator to this most momentous blossoming love story!"

Machi moved to get up.

"Don't. Don't play to his stupidity. Just ignore him." Yuki said briskly, turning away from his brother, so his eyes were glued on Machi.

"Why, Yellow, you mustn't take this apparent coldness as representative of Yuki's true loving feelings towards his much-admired elder brother. Indeed, he is only fearful to express them in such a public place."

"Now, now, Aya," Shigure said, appearing at his shoulder. "I think all of Yuki-kun's true loving feelings right now are directed very much at this pretty young high school girl in front of him." He moved to the other side of Machi, putting his face dangerously close to hers. He tapped her nose with his index finger, making her blink back in astonishment.

Yuki stood up in an instant, slamming his hands down on the table with force, making the customary vase of fake flowers rattle.

"Machi, let's go. Another moment with these idiots, and I refuse to be held responsible for my actions." Machi cocked an agreeing eyebrow at him, standing up too, forcing Ayame and Shigure to step back.

"No fear, Yuki! Of course, it is only natural to be embarrassed when courting your first girlfriend, but be comforted in the thought that although your older brother would never deem any girl good enough for you, Yellow is perfectly adequate!"

Yuki, who had been in the process of following Machi out of the rather stunned café, spun on his heel at this, facing his oblivious brother once again.

"Machi is far more than _adequate_! She's," He blushed, realising what he was yelling across the expanse of the café, for everyone to hear, "This isn't even about that! This is about how stupid, interfering and… it's got nothing to do with you!" With that, he turned back towards the door, prompting a now slightly flushed Machi forward with a quick, "Please, let's go."

She nodded, and they left the now happily entertained café, both with the unspoken knowledge in their heads that they would never be able to bear the embarrassment of stepping inside that particular shop again.

Five minutes later, and the awkwardness incurred by Shigure and Ayame had passed, and they could make casual small talk again as they walked along the otherwise quiet road, heading back towards Machi's apartment, Yuki feeling it was only right to walk her home after all he had put her through that afternoon. The silence of the surrounding world around them, however, was shattered by a sudden piercing whistle from a short distance behind them, which quickly evolved into a familiar tune. Yuki felt his stomach sink to somewhere near his knees as a loud and outlandish voice began to accompany the melody.

"_Yuki and Machi, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g…"_

* * *


	15. Note

**I was working on a completely different chapter for this fic when I came up with the idea for this, and couldn't get it out of my head. My first idea had been for it to be really romantic and cute-sy, but it didn't turn out that way XD It's almost slightly angsty (bordering, maybe) but I'm content with it, so there we go :P Thanks to the lovely people who reviewed, and big thanks to everyone just reading in general. I'm going to try and go on hyper-drive with my writing for a while seeing as the title of this fic suggests that I've made the crazy promise to write 100 one-shots, and I'm currently not even at 20 XD Hoping to get the next one finished and up ASAP, but in the meantime, enjoy this offering of MachiXYuki :D**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fruits Basket. & I don't have a witty comment to make about not owning it, either.**

**Note**

The teacher of Machi's Japanese class was young and in love. She had announced to the entire class the week before that her long-term boyfriend had proposed. She was officially engaged, which had turned her into a hopeless romantic. It was this that prompted her, the day before Valentine's Day, to set her class the task of writing a love note for the crush she assured them she was sure they all had.

Machi sat, half of the lesson gone, with a blank sheet of paper in front of her. The teacher had handed out stationary decorated with little hearts, the kind that only teenage girls would usually buy. Even so, Machi would never even contemplate buying such a ridiculous thing, let alone write to someone on it, confessing feelings she was sure she didn't have for anyone.

"Oh, Kuragi-san?" The teacher was beside her, talking in a low voice, "You're the only one who hasn't written anything yet. Surely there is somebody? It doesn't matter if you don't give it to them. That's up to you. Just write something. Let your heart spill onto the page."

"There's nobody." Machi said definitely, putting her pen down to illustrate that she wouldn't be writing anything. The teacher sighed, and moved on.

"You're not _really _going to give it to him, are you?" A girl asked at the desk behind her, having strolled up to her friend's desk to see who she was writing to. Giggling from both of them had ensued, irksome to Machi's ears. This whole class was making her uncomfortable.

"Well, why not?" She asked, "I mean, he may be the Prince, but I bet any boy couldn't be entirely immune to the stuff I've written in this letter."

"Even so, you confessed to him last year, and he turned you down?"

"Yeah," The girl sighed, "But I've lost weight since then, and I dyed my hair. I'm even thinking about getting green contact lenses."

"So that's what you think it is? Why he turns down all the girls that confess to him?"  
"Definitely. I mean, he's the best guy in the school, so it's only natural he'll only have the very best looking girl."

Machi made a conscious effort to tune out from that point. For some reason, their girlish conversation about the President annoyed her even more than their silly giggling. He wasn't like that. She didn't understand why he didn't accept the offers from all the girls who threw themselves at him, but he wasn't shallow and superficial as they perceived him to be. He wasn't looking for the prettiest, or the thinnest. Her only guess was that the girl that he would finally let into his heart was the only one that would fill the void in him, and banish the loneliness that surrounded him like a cruel shield.

She picked up her pen without being fully aware of what she was doing. Did she really think she could be that person, the one who would complete him? No. It wouldn't be her, she was sure. She wasn't special or gifted with people. From what it looked like, it would be Tohru Honda who helped him out of the darkness he was confined in. It could never be her. She didn't know how to get out of the pitch dark herself. Even if she did, she didn't know she'd want to be that person. But the teacher wanted her to write something, and he intrigued her, so she assured herself there was no harm in writing 'Dear President' at the top of the paper. She would just screw up and throw away her work as soon as class finished. If anything, this was nothing more than something to occupy her time until the lunchtime bell rang.

"_This is not a love letter."_

She thought she should state that from the very outset. She didn't fully know what she felt for him, but it wasn't love.

"_If this was, you would have to be an honest person, which you're not. You lie every day. Not always with your words, but with who you pretend to be. Possibly pretending to be someone who you're not is a worse deception than anything that could come out of your mouth."_

Why did she think that she was the only person within the room who had started their letter by accusing their 'crush' of being a liar?

"_I don't understand why you need to lie. Are you scared that people won't like who you truly are? Are you worried that you're not enough like a prince underneath? That shouldn't worry you, because you're not a prince, and you don't have princely qualities, so why do you feel you should be like one? Because that's what people expect of you?"_

Was this too insulting? Possibly, but he wasn't ever going to read it. She didn't mean it viciously. She didn't know why she thought like this about him, why she was so certain that what he presented to the world wasn't what he was. It just… she didn't like to see him pretend, because she was sure that it must hurt him to be something he wasn't every single day. She'd grown up in an environment where she had to live up to what people wanted her to be, even though it was something unattainable to someone as mediocre as her. He had more going for him than she did, but surely it was still impossible for him to reach the perfection that people expected of him?

"_I'm writing this because I want to let you know that"_

What did she want him to know from this? Her pen blotched on the page.

"_I want to let you know that someone like you shouldn't be afraid to be yourself. I want to see who is under the superficial mask you put on before coming to school every day. I want to meet that person, and get to know him. The President that the girls in this school devote themselves to is kind, gentle, and a gentleman, but he isn't real. He is an idol, nothing more. I'm not interested in him. He doesn't mean anything. I want to know the person you really are, President. If you could show me that, I couldn't ever turn my back. I think you're scared of being rejected, but I know I could never reject someone who laid their true soul out for the entire world to see, because they are the people that deserve to be idolized and adored. I know for certain that if you'd let people see the real you, I would definitely be able to like that person."_

"Okay, class, that's it for today!" The teacher called the moment the bell rang. "I want you to give those letters to the people you love! Or if you're not feeling that brave, hold onto them until you can build that courage in your hearts!"

There was a general scrambling for people collecting together their things as Machi signed her name at the bottom of her letter. She wouldn't have bothered, if not just to be able to say that the letter was complete. The fact that she would be throwing it in the bin as she left the classroom was irrelevant.

A gaggle of girls passed her as she put her pen back in her pencil case.

"Where does Yuki-kun usually eat lunch?"

"Do you think we should all give our letters to him together?"  
"I think so. Most of the girls in the class wrote theirs to him though, so I guess he may be a bit swamped."

"Should we wait until just before the first afternoon lesson?"

"But we don't want the others getting in first and swaying his heart."

They passed her by, leaving the classroom, and she felt her cheeks redden slightly. She felt ridiculous for having written to the Prince. After all, all she had done was express thoughts that she had no right in even thinking, let alone making solid with ink. He had nothing to do with her, and never would do. Who was she to ask silly things of him, like opening up his true self to her? If he kept it hidden, he had a reason that had no association with her. It was none of her business to wonder. She was just the treasurer of the same council he was head of.

She screwed the silly letter up tight as she tossed it into the wastepaper bin, striding out of the room, not looking back.

"Hey, Yun-Yun!" Kakeru called across the empty classroom. "Come look at this!"

"I'm not talking to you." Yuki said sternly, as he picked up pieces of scrap paper from the floor, and placed them in a neat pile on the teacher's desk.

"Look, I'm sorry. But I didn't know the answer, what was I meant to do? You're smart, I knew you'd know!"

"Didn't you consider the possibility that asking me for the answers in the middle of a test might result in us ending up having to tidy _every single_ one of the classrooms?"

Kakeru shrugged, then grinned.

"But look, Yun-Yun, I've got an apology gift for you!"

"I don't want to look."

He bounded over, a piece of paper in his fist.

"I think it's another love letter from one of your legions of fans. This must be the classroom they all wrote them in today." He forced the paper into Yuki's reluctant hand. He felt bad reading these letters, filled with feelings he simply couldn't ever return. But the least he could do was give the words that the girls had spent so long on the time of day. He let his eyes scan unenthusiastically over this particularly crumpled specimen, as Kakeru went back to trying to get rid of cobwebs from the corner of the room with the end of his broom.

Yuki's face grew steadily more and more contorted as he read it, as if in great turmoil or concentration, or perhaps a mix of both. His eyes reached the name at the bottom. His own broom clattered to the ground.

* * *


	16. Sleep

**A fairly romantic fluffy piece, because I'm ashamed of how _lacking_ they are in this fic. So far, the chapters have been three quarters angst it seems, so I'm rectifying the situation :P I'll admit I quite like this chapter, hope you guys do, too! Thanks for all the kind reviews! & for taking the time to read! **

**I guess a slight spoiler warning might be in order..? A scene from volume 15 is referenced... not in detail, so if you haven't read the manga, it probably wouldn't be too big a deal, but just in case you really don't want to know anything until you've read it yourself... turn away now :P **

**WARNING: The last line of this is so cheesy, France is jealous... & now that I've offended and alienated any French readers of this fic, onto the disclaimer... :D**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Fruits Basket, neither anime nor manga. Not surprising. My drawing talents extend to stickmen. Hence why writing is my art of choice :P**

**Sleep**

It was extraordinary that Kakeru had somehow wormed his way around the teachers, and had gotten what he wanted at the cultural festival. Although the head of the school had given them a very strict budget to follow initially, he had even caved in and given what Kakeru had been hankering after. It was because of this that the five members of the council were now sat on a blanket in the playing field that backed onto the school, surrounded by their fellow students, everyone staring up into the cool night sky, 'ooh's and 'ahh's sounding every time a firework was released to spread it's magic to the dark blanket overhead.

Machi wished she had brought a coat. She hadn't realised how biting spring air could be. Even though she was in close proximity to the others, huddled together as they were on the small blanket, it wasn't enough. The President, who sat directly to the side of her, was closest, and a couple of times she found herself unconsciously leaning slightly towards him, attempting to steal some of the warmth radiating off of him. He hadn't noticed, his eyes glued firmly to the sky, a neutral smile on his lips.

The cultural festival itself had been going on all day. Machi had been left to run the bazaar her class hosted almost single-handed, since most of the rest of her classmates went to ogle the President in the play in which, she had been informed since, he played the part of the Fairy Godmother.

Because of her solid hard work all of that day, she didn't feel she was appreciating the fireworks as much as she could have been if she weren't so _exhausted._ She was watching the sparks overhead, but couldn't bring herself to admire them. All she wanted to do was snuggle up in her bed, where it was warm and comfortable, a polar opposite to the hard and cold ground she was currently occupying. She glanced at her watch, wondering how long it would be before she could justify going home. It was too dark to read the face and assess the time. She sighed. Her eyes were heavy. Would anyone notice if she just closed her eyes for five minutes, just to get rid of the worst of the stinging? It wasn't like she'd be able to fall asleep in the position she was in anyway. She let her forehead fall onto her knees as her eyelids slid closed… just five minutes… then she'd definitely…

***

Yuki was lost in his own thoughts, even though he was careful to look as absorbed as those around him in the fireworks up above. He couldn't help but run the encounter that he had witnessed earlier that day through his mind. Those girls had been truly nasty to Machi. He was still partly wishing he had intervened more actively, so that Machi would have been able to see that he was on her side, that even if she didn't think he was like a prince, he wouldn't dislike her for it.

Yes, that's what he should have done. He should have jumped in there the moment he'd walked in on it. Told those girls that they had no right to interrogate Machi, who was perfectly allowed to have her own opinions. He might even have slipped in that he didn't think he was at all like a prince either, so he was squarely on her side. Yes, that might have lightened the mood of the situation somewhat, so that it didn't feel to those girls like he was attacking them in his defence of Machi, either.

Still, there was no point wishing over what he should have done, was there? If he wasn't happy with how things had gone, he should speak to Machi. She was sat right beside him at that very moment. He hadn't risked a glance, but he hadn't heard any appreciative sounds from her over the fireworks, so she probably wouldn't mind him talking to her, confessing that he had seen what had happened that afternoon, and apologizing that he hadn't stepped in, despite all that Kakeru had said about men staying out of fights between women.

"Hey, Machi-" He started quietly, turning to her, but was cut off, as the moment he spoke, she fell into him. The air was squeezed out of his lungs. Her head came to rest gently on his shoulder, unconsciously nuzzling slightly into the crook of his neck, as if hoping to find extra heat there. He could breathe again as soon as he was assured that she hadn't gone _too far._ There was too little touching between them for him to turn into a rat. It was okay. He could relax. His breathing was regular again, but he seemed incapable of slowing his heart down from its erratic pace, which seemed to pick up even further as he felt her gentle breath on the exposed skin on his neck.

It still took a moment for him, after his initial panic, to assess the situation. Machi had fallen asleep, and in a search for warmth and something to lean her lolling body on, she had found him. They were now sat in a position that could be viewed by the outside world as couple-y. It _felt _couple-y, even though it was nothing more than an accident. Machi had fallen asleep, and her unconscious body had fallen to the right, into him, that was all. It could just have easily been for her to end up breathing deeply and slowly on Nao's shoulder, he being sat on the other side of her, scowling up at the fireworks that he hadn't wanted to happen.

Yuki tried to ignore her on him. It felt wrong that he would gain any kind of enjoyment out of it_._ He attempted to stop himself looking at her sleeping form, concentrating on the loud bangs overhead. He failed miserably. After every shower of sparks, he used the light that they temporarily gave to examine her features, closer to him than he had ever seen them before. Did she have any idea how adorable she looked when she slept?

A stray lock of her hair had fallen over her eyes, and he cautiously went to brush it back behind her ear. His hand was shaking slightly as he did it. He had no idea how he would explain himself if she woke up at that point, but he couldn't find the will to restrain himself and keep his hands by his sides. His thumb accidentally grazed across her cheek as he pulled his hand back to his side. She stirred for a moment, and then went still once again.

He didn't notice at first that the fireworks had finished, the regular bangs overhead having been replaced by the banging of his own heart in his ears a while back anyway. He was therefore unprepared for when Kakeru eagerly swivelled around from where he sat in front to face Yuki, eager to boast about who was responsible for such a spectacular show being given the go ahead. The words died on his lips as his eyes took in the scene of his sister leaning on his friend's shoulder, fast asleep.

***

Machi was woken by a high-pitched squeal, followed by a raucous laugh, and someone clapping their hands appreciatively. Her eyes opened at the exact moment that Kakeru yelled out a triumphant:

"I knew it!" He laughed again, "When's the wedding?"

"It's not like that…" Yuki said. His voice sounded unnaturally loud, and she could feel the vibrations of his chest as he spoke. Her senses snapped into understanding, and she bolted into an independent upright position as if she had been stung. She hoped for a moment that this was just a misunderstanding, or a bad dream, or _something. _She had _not_ just been sleeping on the shoulder of the President, the boy who every single girl in the entire school would give their right arm to just speak to. A blush materialised across her entire face, from her hairline to her chin. It was luckily masked by the night.

"Hang on there for two seconds, you lovebirds. Kimi-chan went to find one of her boyfriends a while back, and told me not to disturb her, but she's gotta see this." He grinned, and was up in a flash. Naohito, on the other side of Machi, just grumbled something about 'perpetual stupidity'.

"I-I'm sorry." Machi mumbled quietly to Yuki, carefully keeping her eyes away from his. "I really didn't mean to."

"Don't apologize. You're tired. It could happen to anyone." This wasn't entirely true. He was fairly sure if it had been anyone else, he would have politely woken them up and pushed them gently to the side. But it was Machi, and she was… different somehow. That close contact that would have scared him with anyone else seemed not even enough with her.

She still looked shamefaced.

"I really didn't mind." He leaned in to her ear slowly, wondering if he really dared let himself say it, "I want you to know for certain… Whenever you need someone to lean on… I'm here."

**A/N: Okay, it's past 11:30pm as I write this, but having thrown away my silly idea of having an early night, I'm planning on getting two more chapters for this fic written and finished tonight. If I'm successful, I will probably post early tomorrow. If not, I will probably be found in a heap on my keyboard. Coffee would then be appreciated XD**


	17. Confession

**Thanks for the reviews guys! I didn't totally succeed at my challenge to myself to write 2 chapters of this fic in one night. I wrote one chapter about halfway through, then decided there was no way I could post it, it was really awful :P so this is the second attempt, which I like a bit more. Not my favourite chapter, but okay I think :P Hope you enjoy! Will hopefully get the next chapter up later this evening.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fruits Basket. **

**Confession**

Why was it so hot in the council room today? He had stumbled to open the windows, even though it was still chilly spring weather outside. He could feel the cool air blowing in, but it did nothing to soothe his burning skin. He was sure the heat that was suffocating him was coming from internal sources.

He flopped behind a desk, letting his head fall onto his arms. It felt too heavy for his neck. He let out a small groan. The other council members had all abandoned him, even Naohito, after he had reassured them the day before that the load of work that needed doing was minimal, and he would be more than happy to take it on single-handed. Nobody had argued. After all, what he had said was true, there wasn't a lot of work to do, but the day before he hadn't been counting on feeling like he did now. It was only his loyalty to the council that restrained him from making his way, somehow, home right that moment.

He didn't know how long he sat there, breathing deeply through his mouth, before he was disturbed. He heard the door of the council room open, and was obliged to raise his head to discover the identity of the intruder.

"P-president?" The girl, who seemed slightly blurred around the edges, asked cautiously, taking in his appearance which he guessed betrayed his current state of health. "Do you not feel well?" She asked, moving to approach him.

"Not really." He said quietly, not daring to open his mouth too wide, what with the sick feeling in his throat.

Machi walked over until she was right beside where he sat, where she leant down to be at the same level as him.

"Do you feel hot?"

He nodded, resting his forehead in his palm. He could feel it burning, even with his own fingers.

He flinched away when his cheek was suddenly confronted with cool fingers, pressing on his skin briefly before pulling away. Yuki turned his head to stare at the culprit, surprised.

"I'm sorry." Machi apologized, "But I don't think you should stay here, President. You seem really sick."

"It's fine." Yuki dismissed, "I just need to finish up work here, then I'll go home."  
"How much work have you done since getting here?" She asked. He was caught out. Pen hadn't touched paper since he'd arrived. He simply didn't have the energy in him.

"I really think you should go home." She repeated the sentiment, "I can finish the work. I came here to help anyway."

He nodded slowly,

"You can help if you like," He agreed, "But I can't leave until it's done."

Machi sighed at the stubbornness that she hadn't realised Yuki possessed.

"Okay." She agreed, taking the pile of papers that sat undone in front of him, and placing them on a desk which she then sat behind. She could easily see he wasn't going to get anything done himself, so he'd just have to be satisfied with watching her do the work.

After ten minutes of silence, filled only with the rhythmic scratching of her pen, Machi glanced over to Yuki, and was slightly startled to see his head still resting on his arm, but his eyes were fixed firmly on her. Not even on what she was doing with the paperwork, but actually on her. She looked away before she spoke.

"Is something wrong?" She asked cautiously, trying to make herself oblivious once again to the attention she was getting.

"I'm glad you're part of the council." Yuki informed her, then gave a wistful sigh, "I'm glad I got to meet you."

"Oh." She replied lamely, not knowing what to say. She tried to keep her eyes fixed on the work in front of her.

"Honda-san would like you so much." He said, with a lucid smile. "I hope she gets to meet you soon."

She glanced across at him quickly. Honda-san? The girl that he lived with, the one that had allowed him to smile again. How could someone like her meet a girl like that? A girl extraordinary enough to lead anyone out of darkness?

"She seems a very nice person." Machi commented blandly. Her mind couldn't concentrate on the figures she was meant to be working out.

"She is." He smiled at just the thought. He loved her. She could simply tell. And why shouldn't he? Surely it was only natural, when you met someone who was your definition of perfection, you would fall in love with them?

"I'm glad she can make the President happy." She said, and even though it was true, she was happy about it, her voice wavered.

"She does." He fell silent after that, and Machi attempted to stifle the questions brewing in her head. Obviously sickness was taking its toll on Yuki. He was telling her things without thinking it through first. If she asked him anything at that moment, chances were she would get a truthful and open answer. But she couldn't do that. She had no place to take advantage, and discover about things that had no connection to her. Just as the President had no connection to her beyond them being students at the same school, and colleagues on the same council.

"Machi," Yuki said suddenly, forcing her to turn to him once more, "Thank you."

"That's okay." She said quietly, "It wasn't fair for you to be left to do all the work, anyway."

"Not just that," Yuki said, laying his forehead on the desk, as he had been doing when she had entered, "But for letting me be able to keep smiling."

"What?" She asked. She couldn't imagine anything she had done that hadn't just been a bother to the President, making him have to apologize for and justify her erratic destructive behaviour.

"Kyo," He said, talking into the tabletop, "and Honda-san. It won't be long before they realise they're in love with each other."

She didn't know who this Kyo was, but did that mean that his feelings for Honda were unrequited?

"I thought if that ever happened, I wouldn't know what to do. I've come to rely on Honda-san so much over the years. I didn't think, after her, there would ever be another girl who I could love as much. I didn't think I'd ever be able to be as happy as when I was with her."

"Y-you might still have a chance with her?" Machi suggested quietly, "If she and this other boy haven't realised their feelings yet, maybe it's not too late?"

Yuki looked up at this suggestion, smiling at her, and looking her straight in the eye.

"No, it was never like that. It wasn't a traditional love triangle between the three of us. That idiot loves her because he can see what a beautiful young woman she is. He loves her because he wants her to be the one who he marries."

"And you?" Machi asked.

He laughed.

"She was what I needed her to be. I didn't need a girlfriend then. In Honda-san, I always saw, and still do see, a mother."

Her eyes widened. She had been wrong, then, making assumptions about the President's relationship with Honda.

"But I still thought," His eyes weren't on her anymore, they were staring at the wall behind her, as if he was now more talking to himself, "that if Kyo took her away from me, I wouldn't have anyone to make me smile anymore."

He paused, and Machi was aware she was holding her breath. This was on a personal level that the pair of them hadn't even touched before. She almost felt bad for letting it continue, after all, it was only Yuki's befuddled mind talking. When he was fit and well, he would almost definitely regret telling her all of this.

"But I was wrong. I'm glad, I was very wrong. When I thought that, I hadn't met you then."

She blushed automatically. Did he have any idea what he was saying? And how much of it could she trust, anyway? After all, he was obviously very ill, even if he was managing to talk so much, even more than he usually did.

"Honda-san was never going to be the one I ended up falling in love with. She was always destined to be with Kyo." He paused again, and just before his head crashed back onto his folded arms on the desk, he finished quietly, "But you… we're the same. What Honda-san is to Kyo, you are to me."


	18. Explosion

**This is later than I planned. This is my third attempt at a new chapter for this fic. The previous two would have both ended up going on way too long to be one-shots. I liked both the ideas, but it wouldn't have done them any justice unless they were written as multi-chaptered fics. So this is my third attempt. I quite like this chapter. It's really lighthearted through most of it, then right at the end, I turn it angsty. What can I say? I'm an absolute angst writer at heart XD I'm going to write and get up the next chapter of this fic today, as well. I like a challenge :P**

**Thanks to everyone that's reviewed, and to everyone reading! **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't really own Fruits Basket. It's just fun to pretend.**

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**Explosion**

"Here you are, Machi." Kakeru said, throwing her one of the two drinks cans in his grasp. It fell short, onto the grass in front of where she knelt.

"Thanks." She said unenthusiastically, as he sat down beside her, cracking open his own can. When he had announced he was going to fetch refreshments, he hadn't offered anything to either herself or Yuki, who was sat empty-handed beside her. She would have preferred he hadn't get her anything. She didn't even _like _fizzy drinks.

"You didn't get the President anything." She noted, not really wanting to open her own drink until everyone had something.

"Oh, Machi, you're going to have to get used to this. Yun-Yun is a princess, he won't drink commoner drinks, purchased with commoner money."

"You imagine I have my own currency that I buy things with?" Yuki said, rolling his eyes.

"No, that's just stupid. Even _you're_ not that elite." Kakeru took a long gulp of his drink, "Nope, I just imagine you get maid service to iron out all your notes, and polish your coins before you'd even think about buying anything with them."

Yuki didn't justify Kakeru's predictable stupidity with an answer.

"Where did you buy the drinks from, anyway?" Yuki asked, not being able to see where around them in the park the vending machine was. "I'll go and buy one of my own with my laundered money."

Kakeru jerked his thumb over his shoulder in a uselessly general direction.

"Over there." He said.

Yuki made to get up.

"No, wait," Machi said, holding out a hand to stop him, not quite touching him. "Have this. I don't want it anyway. I'm not thirsty."

"No, I don't want to take it from you." He denied. She tried pushing it into his hand, but he closed his palm into a fist.  
"No, really, please don't feel guilty just because your brother has rather crazy views about me."

"I'm not. I just don't like fizzy drinks."  
"Please don't feel you have to say that just to make me feel less guilty if I took it. I really don't mind going to –"

"Hey," Kakeru piped up, observing the scene with thoughtfulness. "You know what the obvious solution is, here?"

"What?" Yuki asked impatiently. He highly doubted it was going to be anything helpful or sensible.

"You should share the can." He said, "That way, you'll both get sugary goodness, and you'll be able to share indirect kisses. There's absolutely no down side!"

"N- Idiot!" Machi yelled immediately, going red at this suggestion.

"You're an idiot." Yuki agreed, more calmly.

"Actually," Machi said quickly, still scowling mercilessly at her brother, "I am thirsty. I'll drink this. By myself."

"And I'll go and get my own." Yuki said easily, "Won't be a minute." He started walking away from the pair, but turned back as quick as lightening when he heard a loud, popping, fizzing sound, followed by an expletive, and masculine laughter.

Machi was even redder than she had been moments before. She was also now absolutely soaking. The fought about can was lying on the ground, the remainder of the contents seeping out of it, and being absorbed into the parched ground.

"Idiot!" She yelled for the second time in as many minutes, "You shook it up!"

Kakeru had tears falling down his cheeks, his own drink slopping out as he doubled over in laughter.

"Don't," He choked out, "blame me. It was – it was you and Yun-Yun's," He had to take a moment to regain his breath, "stupid manners. Pushing it back and force like nobody's business."

She was silenced at this, seeing some possible truth in the statement.

"You know the – the best bit?" Kakeru gasped, "Now Yuki knows what colour bra you're wearing."

Machi looked down sharply. Her thin white cotton blouse, had, indeed, taken on a rather see-through quality. Her red bra showed, highly visible for the entire world to see, through the dripping material.

Kakeru had no qualms about pointing it out, or making jokes about it. At least Yuki had the decency to only look for a second, before glancing away, embarrassed that Machi had seen his eyes where they shouldn't have been for that single moment. If her own cheeks could have got any redder, she was sure they would have.

"There's no way you can walk home like that!" Kakeru chortled, "Unless you want to get whistled by every guy you pass."

This could have been interpreted as brotherly advice, if not for the silent mirth on every single feature of his face. He was having a _whale _of a time.

It did raise the question, just how exactly was she going to get home now? The sticky liquid was in her hair, and she knew she couldn't wait until it dried to leave. It would be a disaster to try and wash out then.

"Oh, um," Yuki started, approaching, thoughts of his own drink now apparently forgotten, he was making a conscious effort to not let his eyes fall directly onto Machi.

"In my bag, I've got a polo shirt." He said, opening it, and pulling the red item out, "It'll be much too big for you, Machi, but it's better than nothing?"

He handed it to her, while keeping his eyes on a spot about two feet above her head. She nodded a silent thanks, not sure she could look at him herself without having _another_ blushing fit.

"Go change behind that tree over there!" Kakeru suggested, having composed himself, and pointing to an old oak tree that no-one in the park was sitting near. She nodded, and headed in that direction, grasping onto the shirt.

***

Any normal person would have taken the borrowed piece of clothing off as soon as they had got home, stuffed it into the washing machine, and got it ready for handing back to the owner on Monday, she berated herself. She had now been back at her apartment for over an hour, yet she hadn't for some reason been able to bring herself to pull the shirt over her head, and put on one of her own blouses.

It was just… she could smell _him_ on it. Even though he had assured her that it was washed, it smelled just like him. How could his scent have become so distinctive to her? They hadn't even been close many times, and every time they had had just been a meaningless accident. So why was it so appealing to her? Why was she wishing she'd be able to experience it first-hand?

She forced herself out of such ridiculous thoughts. This was Sohma Yuki she was thinking of. The most extraordinary boy in school. It was pathetic that she actually had to _remind_ herself that this was the most she would ever get. His shirt was the closest she would _ever_ get to being held close and hugged by him.


	19. Bang Bang, You're Dead

**I don't know _why_ I wrote this. I just _did_. XD I can't say it took me the longest time ever, but it was quite fun to write something different, and at the same time show how little I know about gaming. Plus, violent Machi is just plain cool :P**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fruits Basket. Nor do I own the title for this one. 'Bang Bang, You're Dead' is a song by Dirty Pretty Things. (A/N the song has nothing to do with the resulting fic. I just like the title of it XD)**

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Bang Bang, You're Dead

CRASH! He was flung against a concrete wall, which was immediately stained with red, from what was apparently a very serious head wound. He was bleeding. Yuki's blood was starting to pool on the floor around where his slumped figure lay, as everything started to fade, until there was nothing but black for a solid moment. Then the mocking white words 'You Died' dance onto the screen, and Yuki groaned, tempted to throw down his controller. Again. He had died, again. Was it even possible to beat this stupid mafia boss? It certainly didn't seem so. In fact, if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed it. If a certain exceptionally talented player hadn't already shown him the dead form of the formidable boss…

"You died again?" Machi asked, seating herself back down on the sofa of her apartment, a fresh bowl of popcorn placed on the table in front of them.

He nodded. How long had he trained in the martial arts for? Absolutely years. He was an exceptional student in the dojo. He had beaten many very well respected professionals. So why couldn't he get beyond the first challenge in this particularly violent video game?

"I already told you," Machi said, sighing, "Technique and the element of surprise won't work here. You've just got to beat him to a pulp. Hit the attack button until your thumb hurts so much that you think it's dislocated."

"But that's not how it works in real-"

"This isn't real life, Yuki-senpai." She said, rolling her eyes at him, "It's just a game. A game that I've finished, and you've barely started, so I think in this instance it'd be a good idea for you to follow my advice."

Yuki sighed dramatically. "Fine. But I don't even think my character's at a high enough level to kill this guy, yet."

"Then you need to level up with some practice fights." She informed him, "You can either go against some NPCs, or against me."

Well, surely if he fought her, she'd be kind to him, right? This was his girlfriend, after all. And she was one of the single kindest people he knew-

***

"You died. Again." She stated, leaning back into the sofa, a slight smug look on her face, "You're really not very good at this, Yuki-senpai."

She was right. There was her character – an unrealistically proportioned red-haired vixen – parading in a victory dance on the screen, while his own pitiful warrior laid battered and bruised in an undignified mound on the stone clad floor of the battle ring.

"Machi," He asked, leaning back so her eyes were level with his, in an attempt to make her feel guilty, "Don't you feel… bad about stamping on, battering, kicking, and eventually killing your boyfriend?"

She cocked a thoughtful eyebrow at him, before leaning in to give him a fleeting butterfly kiss.

"You know, Yuki-senpai," She smiled, "Everything's fair in love and war."


	20. Pinpoint

**Ah, I've finally been inspired again with this fic. This part isn't exactly what I had in mind when I started, I thought I was going to do a part from both of their point's of view, but my writing time is sorely lacking at the moment, so I thought it was better to just stick with this, and write the part with Machi at a later point. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. It's not a particularly original idea, but I like writing in this kind of style XD Thanks to everyone reading, and those lovelies reviewing!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fruits Basket. If I did, no-one would read it :P**

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Pinpoint

It was a build up to a pinnacle. Looking back, he could have possibly predicted that it would happen, even if he had never experienced such a thing before. He had seen enough TV shows. Enough romantic comedies to have a rough sketch of how it worked. And even though they weren't the most conventional of pairs, the framework was still the same.

He had noticed her. How could he not? She was the girl who saw through… everything. Saw through, when nobody else was even willing to look. Nobody but her dared to find anything wrong with him. They wanted to believe he was as perfect as they had painted him up to be. That way, they still _could_ believe. It was a source of hope for them to believe that someone existed who truly was perfect. They weren't being selfish in that, he could never condemn it. And after all, he had no proof that there wasn't someone like that. There could so easily be someone out there who was indeed flawless. Someone who had no insecurities, or inadequacies… but that could never be him, no matter how hard he tried. And she saw that.

Once she had his attention, she refused to let go. Of course, she was never demanding. She didn't ask for him to look up every time she unobtrusively walked into the room. She never told his heart to race when she accidentally brushed her hand against his shoulder when reaching for the stapler. No, that was all his own initiative. His own heart, that had decided without consultation with his mind to single her out, and desire her to always be around, no matter what.

His moments with her could flash through his mind like a slideshow, but he didn't want that. He preferred to stop awhile, to hold them, examine them, play the same one again and again on repeat. That way, he could ensure they happened. They could ensure that she really existed, that beautifully imperfect girl, the one that just couldn't fit into the world, however hard she tried. They shared the affliction.

These moments, though, were merely the build-up, though he didn't notice it while it was happening. They built him up to the point where he crashed over the edge, to the point where he couldn't deny it anymore. Not to himself, and it wouldn't be long that he could keep it from her. She'd have to know. She didn't realise how lovable she truly was. She was the most observant person he knew, yet if she had seen how deep he was in now, how much he adored everything about her now, she hadn't let on. But then again, he couldn't read her as much as he'd like. He had to guess sometimes. He wasn't observant like her. She kept a hidden heart, and a poker face.

So what was the exact moment? His life was a blur of half-remembered faces, and mutely whispered words. Yet in some places, there was a dazzling sharpness. Ones that made him himself blink back at how vivid, how exact his mind could be when it was necessary.

That moment was like that. He could remember how her eyes had glinted, how the colour had spread across her cheeks, how he had felt the graze of her fingernails on his hand as she swiped the maple leaf bookmark away from him, with false denials in a meaningless stream from her mouth. They didn't matter. They both knew the truth. And that was the moment he fell in love.


	21. Birthday

**Hey! It's been a while, but I'm back, and I've finally finished a half-way decent chapter for this fic XD Go me. What with starting college, flu, NaNoWriMo preparations, and writer's block, this has been a long time coming, so I hope hope hope it's a worthwhile part :P Thank you so much to all my kind reviewers. You guys are awesome beyond belief! & to everyone reading this fic, I hope you enjoy this part!**

**WARNING: This is lengthy, and a little angsty. It's how I write best XD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket. Uh-uh, not at alllll :(**

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This was _difficult._ She knew it shouldn't be. After all, most people did this sort of thing at least once a month, right? For people of all different ages and sexes. But still, for her, this was new. She'd never had to pick something all by herself. Even less so for a boy. How could she possibly know what he liked? It was not like she could even get something that she'd want, as her brother, Manabe always said he did, every time he bought her a gift. That strategy was far from effective, after all. What possibly possessed the idiot to think she'd really want a solar powered remote control car?

No, she was going to have to do this on what she knew of the President… What did she know about the President? Her mind was blank as she paced the fluorescent-lit aisle of the air conditioned shop yet again. This was ridiculous. She'd known him for over six months. If she was honest with herself, she was fascinated by him, yet… here she was, she couldn't even pick out a simple little present.

He'd known though. He'd chosen something for her perfectly. She reached absently into her pocket, her fingers clasping around the cool, hard paperweight. She gave it a small squeeze, a reminder to herself just why she had to keep searching for the perfect gift for him. He'd known exactly what to get her without even asking. How had he known? And why the heck didn't she know? She wanted to understand him, but right at that moment it struck her how much she had no idea about. All of the time he was outside the student council, for example, she had no idea what he was like then. When he was at home, did he act the same? Or could he let his guard down then? Did Honda get to see that? It seemed likely.

Yes, the President interested her, but there were sides of him that Honda saw every day that she never would. However much she hoped, for her own _sadistic _reasons, that the President was like her, the truth was, she didn't have anywhere near the full picture. As this absolute lack of any idea what to buy him proved. What were his interests, his hobbies? He liked gardening, but she didn't know if he had his own garden, or what he grew. She was sure that Honda wouldn't be having this problem. As soon as she had spotted Yuki's upcoming birthday on her calendar, her mind would immediately have conjured up the perfect gift, one he would cherish for years to come. Machi sighed.

Suddenly, she was thrown off balance from her dejected stance, staring blankly at the shelves of goods and trinkets in front of her. Throwing her hands out to steady herself, and stop herself from falling, she caught sight of the couple who had bumped into her. Their hands were entwined. The girl giggled lightly into her boyfriend's shoulder. The boy grinned in turn.

"Sorry about that." He said off-hand, and then without a glance, the pair left her. Machi's face had grown heated from embarrassment. It always took her surprise when people from the world around her invaded her personal self-built bubble. It was an experience she wasn't used to, invisibility being something she was all too accustomed to.

That was it. There was no point spending any more time here. She left the shop empty handed. What had she been thinking in any case? What was she to the President? They weren't even really friends. They were just on the council together. Surely he'd think it strange if she did give him something? Like she was suggesting she was something more to him than she actually was. He'd given her an apology gift, but that was just out of his own sense of over-the-top politeness. A birthday gift was something different altogether. No, she'd been stupid. As it was, why would he want anything from her? All of his fanclub would get him something. He'd hardly be lacking attention on the day. She should just keep out of it. Her hand in her pocket squeezed Mogeta harder.

***

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YUN-YUN!" Kakeru yelled at the top of his lungs the moment Yuki opened the door. A gaudy neon pink and yellow cardboard party hat sat on his black hair. Just looking at it caused Yuki to have to blink from the brightness.

"Happy birthday, Yun-Yun!" Kimi greeted him, rushing up to him with a parcel wrapped in flower-patterned wrapping paper, "Open Kimi's present! Open Kimi's present!" She shoved it into his hands, which were already balancing several other gifts, all wrapped in different paper. His fanclub had surrounded him the moment he had stepped into the building that morning, forcing him to take the gifts that he assured them weren't necessary.

"Thank you very much, Kimi-chan." He said, bowing his head slightly to her, as he put his gifts down on his desk.

"Yun-Yun's so formal!" Kimi said brightly, rushing to sit beside him, as he took Kimi's gift in his hands. Everyone's eyes were on him – Kimi expectant, Kakeru jubilant, Nao resenting, and Machi… he wished he could tell from a glance what Machi was thinking, but she was talented at not letting him, or anyone else, see what she didn't want them too – and he had to make a conscious effort to not completely shrink away from the attention.

"Open it! Open it!" Kimi chanted.

Yuki carefully tore open the paper of the squishy package, to reveal a bundle of pink fur.

"Oh, a… a teddy bear." Yuki said, trying to keep a polite smile on his face at the cuddly atrocity now in his grasp. It was baby pink, with doleful blue eyes, and a pillarbox red felt heart covering the entire front of its torso. "Um, thank you… very much, Kimi-chan."

"I knew you'd like it, Yun-Yun! I think it shows exactly how much Kimi thinks of the President!" She smiled joyfully, "After all, the boy who gave Kimi that bear last Christmas definitely thought a lot of Kimi!"

"Oh… well, um, thanks." He tried to smile at her. She seemed to take it as sincere, and skipped back to her own desk in the room.

"Now my present, Yun-Yun, you gotta open mine next!" Kakeru bounded over, almost throwing an unwrapped box at Yuki.

"Sorry I couldn't wrap it. My girlfriend was busy, and I can't wrap stuff myself."

"Don't worry." Yuki said, silently dreading opening the box. It was from Kakeru, after all. It could be _anything. _It took some courage to lift the lid, reach into the darkness within and pull out… a pair of action figures.

"What do you think, Yun-Yun? They're perfect for you, right?"

Yuki felt an almost overwhelming urge to hit him, but forced himself to consider that he could have got him something far more… inappropriate, if he had set his mind to it. Small mercies, and the fear of seeming ungrateful restrained his fist from making contact with the side of Kakeru's head.

The figures were of a couple of characters from Super Sentai, a television show that Hiro had introduced him to not that long ago. The red one and the yellow one to be precise. Although separate dolls, they had been bound together by copious amounts of tape so that it looked like they were holding hands. It took no amount of genius to work out what Kakeru was insinuating. The devilish grin on his face only heightened Yuki's irritation and embarrassment. He was lucky that some of the interest around his gifts had now dropped. Nao was doing his paperwork with angry mutterings under his breath, and Kimi, having lost interest now her own gift had been delivered, was brushing her hair whilst gazing admiringly at her own reflection in a hand-mirror. Only Machi was still watching, her face betraying a slight curiosity into Kakeru's gift. Yuki tried to obscure it from her sight, behind the box the pair had come in.

"Thank you, Kakeru." He said under his breath. "You shouldn't have."

"But I wanted to." Did he have any idea how close to being thrown into the wall opposite he was?

"And now our gifts have been bestowed on our dear Yun-Yun," Kakeru announced, standing up straight again, although the smile hadn't left his face, "The School Defence Force will take its leave!"

"Huh? What?" Kimi asked, putting her brush down.

"We've still got work to do!" Naohito fumed, "Stop saying stupid things!"

"No, we've got to go. I'm pretty sure there's… something we need to, somewhere that's… not here. So get moving!"

Kimi happily pranced out of the room, requiring no more explanation, after all, it was an excuse to get out of work. Kakeru left moments later, with Naohito in tow, being pulled with, yells of protest, by his collar. Machi got up to leave too, but was instantly chided with:

"No, no, Machi, you've got to stay here with Yun-Yun, to… keep watch. After all, a rabid fangirl might get him if he's left alone."

"What was that?" Yuki asked after a moment of stunned silence once the rest of the council had evacuated the room.

"I don't know…" Machi said slowly. She got up from her own desk, and went to the door, standing on tiptoes to peer through the window at the top of the door. "They really have gone." She confirmed.

"Oh." Machi started at his voice. He was far closer to her than she had been anticipating. He too had moved to see out of the little window, and was now only paces from her. She reddened slightly.

"Hey, um, Machi," He started, stepping back. Maybe he felt, too, that they had gotten breath-restrictingly close. "You don't… you don't want that teddy bear, do you?" He pointed to the pink thing behind him.

Machi instantly shook her head, slightly more violently than even she had anticipated.

"No. No, I really… don't." The said bear was slightly horrific in its overly cute demeanour.

Yuki chuckled.

"It's the thought that counts. I don't want to be mean to Kimi-chan or anything."

"What did Manabe get you?" Machi asked with genuine curiosity, "Was it something bad? He's never given me a good gift, ever."

"Oh… that. It's not… it's not bad, just… stupid, I guess."

"Oh." She didn't understand. Yuki might hide a lot of things from the world, but she was fairly touched by how unevasive he usually was with her. Her curiosity was genuinely piqued.

"You know, if it's something really bad, just burn it as soon as you get home. That's what I did the time he thought it was his place to get me a training bra." The words slipped out of her mouth before she had a chance to think them through. She blushed immediately. She'd just mentioned a feminine underwear article to the President. Being swallowed up by the ground, or being hit by a meteor didn't sound altogether unattractive at that moment.

He laughed, more at her blush than her words.

"You can be so cute sometimes." Yes, a meteor would be a great way to end the conversation, she decided.

"…shut up."

His hand was suddenly on her head, his face closer to hers than it had been moments before. He wasn't smiling now, but there was such a soft kindness, a vulnerability in his eyes. She had the insane urge to hug him. She wanted to… get rid of the pain. Somehow. Which was completely ridiculous. How could she possibly ever manage that, when she was barely even surviving herself? She brushed the thought aside, and mentally scolded herself for being so stupid.

He didn't say anything, and she felt compelled to break the silence, break the moment before… before something happened. Before she did something stupid that would mean never being able to look him straight in the eye ever again.

"I-I didn't get you a gift." She spluttered out. She was successful, he withdrew his hand, and his face was suddenly less intense. He smiled warmly down at her.

"That's okay." He said, "I've had so many wonderful gifts already." He indicated pointedly to the bear, and Machi almost smiled.

"I wanted to, though." She continued, not really knowing what she was saying, "I just… I didn't know what… I don't know anything about you."She hadn't meant to say that last part. Did admitting it make it more real, or more trivial? Would he really care that she felt she knew nothing of his likes, dislikes, interests, wishes?

His smile didn't falter.

"I've never told you what kind of music I like, what my dream job is, or what my opinion on musical greetings cards is, but… you know about me. You know things about me that I don't know if I'm even ready to face yet."

Machi felt rather like the wind had been knocked out of her lungs.

"I sometimes feel like, the others… Kakeru, Nao, Kimi, they know Yun-Yun, they know who I present to them, but you… you don't buy Yun-Yun at all," He smiled slightly wryly, "You… you keep wandering past Yun-Yun, into… Yuki."

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean-" Machi said slowly, she wasn't sure she quite understood what he was saying.

"Don't be. I'm… I'm grateful, truly, even though sometimes what you can see in me scares me. There's parts… I wish weren't me. But I promise… the walls you're knocking down in me, I'm not going to build them up again. I… don't want to keep you out."


	22. Angel

**This part is so random XD I'm saying that now. I don't even know what I was doing with it, but hey, I love Naohito, so that's okay :P It was Sandra Chang (author of a fabulous Machi/Yuki fic, that I highly, highly recommend you read, if you haven't already) who pointed out to me the sore absence of Nao in this fic, and darn it, she's right, so I'm rectifying the situation now! **

**Anyway, this part is far from what I was expecting when I set off with it. It was going to be lighthearted, I swear. Instead, it's slightly depressing, and more Naohito/Motoko than Machi/Yuki. I don't even know how that happened. I'm doing NaNo at the moment, so I'm tired. That's my excuse, but I'm sure those of you doing NaNo at the moment will understand the pure fuzz your brain is reduced to XD **

**Next part is going to be completely Machi/Yuki, promise!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fruits Basket. But if I did...**

Naohito sighed, as he applied a little more pressure than was necessary to staple the last pack of sheets together. There. Done. And all by himself, too, after the other idiotic members of the council had deserted him. Gosh, if he'd known when he signed up just what he would have had to work with…

He would still have signed up. The responsibility, the pressure, and the increased likelihood of getting into his university of choice because of his work on the council, had all been relevant factors, but… It was _him_, really. It was the _prince _that had sealed the deal, left him with no option but to join the council_. _Yuki Sohma, a boy made of pure perfection if the girls of the school were to be believed. But he didn't believe them. He didn't care what they thought. They were just faceless classmates. No, there was only one girl he was concerned with, one who had captured not only his heart, but every aspect of his being. He couldn't fall asleep without thinking about her anymore. So why the _hell _did she think the president was the best thing in existence, just like everybody else?

Naohito had grown up in an average family. His father worked hard to get enough money to feed his family, and keep their moderately sized house. He had two decent, hardworking sisters, who wanted to be as successful as they could be in life. He had always been quite content with his place in life. He was hardly someone who demanded everything. In fact, he didn't think he had ever asked for anything more than what he had rightly earned.

This was the one thing, the one and only time he was breaking away from that. There was something, someone, who he wanted more than anything. He'd never been so besotted with anyone. He couldn't imagine there was another girl on the planet as beautiful. Yes, Motoko Minagawa was the single thing he wanted more than anything else. But he couldn't have her. He could never have her, she'd made that clear, even if she'd never told him directly. She had eyes for one person, and one person only. Yuki Sohma. Prince Charming himself. The boy who could have any girl. Naohito wished he _would_ have any other girl, he didn't care who. He could start dating a teacher for all he cared, he just wished that Yuki would do something to make Motoko give up. To make her realise that he was, in fact, deeply flawed, as Naohito so badly wanted him to be. Not so that Motoko would be hurt, he couldn't live with himself if he hurt her. He just wanted her to be able to see her options. The people, or person, who had been standing devotedly in the shadows for her for as long as he had known her.

He flicked the light off as he left the council room, the newly finished papers under his arm. He'd take them home with him, for safekeeping, in case that idiot Manabe got into the council room before him tomorrow and messed them up.

The school's corridors were deserted as he stalked through them, his stride slightly fierce. Everyone had long gone home. He wondered if it would be like this when the 3rd years were gone. Would the place feel as empty as it did now? When Motoko was gone, would he feel empty? How long would it take him to move on? He didn't even know how to move on from the acute lovesickness he harboured for her.

The cool gust of early evening air hit him as a bit of a shock as he left the school building and its central heating behind. It really had grown cold. He pulled his coat a little tighter around himself, as he started on his way across the grounds, passing a clump of trees on a particularly shabby stretch of grass, where dating couples liked to have lunchtime picnics in the summer. A glimpse of a sitting figure caught his eye as he passed briskly. He turned on his heel, coming to a sudden halt. Surely nobody would still be out…

It was definitely a person, although the shade of the overhanging branches obscured the sight to begin with. Noahito approached cautiously, as if it were a wild animal.

No, it wasn't a figure. It was two. Two people sitting huddled together on the grass. Were they _asleep? _More importantly, were they _stupid? _Did they have no concept of cold in their loved up bubble? It was a direct route to pneumonia to anyone with common sense.

The girl made a slight snuffling sound, causing Naohito to jump, as the silence of the situation was broken. She nuzzled further into the crook of her boyfriend's neck. He unconsciously tightened his arm around her, pulling her closer to his chest, as if she was a precious one-of-a-kind gem that he never wanted to let go.

It was sickening, really. Did these people have no sense of public decency? After all, not everyone wanted to see their loving displays. Although… it was a fairly secluded place at this time of day, he conceded. He was about to turn, and head out of the gate, back on his route home, forgetting the loved-up couple, when the moon coming out from behind a cloud illuminated the boy's hair for a single moment. Grey-purple. It was so distinctive.

Naohito's heart picked up the pace just a tad. His wish couldn't be coming true, could it? They never had done before… but here was Yuki Sohma, with a girl who was clearly not Motoko snuggled under his arm, as if she were the most precious thing in his world. He couldn't resist sneaking just a little closer, to see the girl's face, to see if he recognized her…

No way. Kuragi. Kuragi. No. The prince with the destructive demon? She was the sole force that stopped him having the spotlessly neat council room that he dreamed of. But he had never picked up that the pair were particularly close. Kuragi sighed, contented, and a small smile formed on Yuki's face, as if both his dreams and reality were equally lovely.

Naohito almost, almost smiled, barely restraining himself in time. He wanted to watch a little longer, to make sure he hadn't simply worked himself so hard that he was hallucinating, but he didn't allow himself to stay and intrude. When he saw the pair next, he wouldn't ask questions, wouldn't mock, or even let on that he'd seen.

He turned, and strolled at a more leisurely pace out of the school gates, taking his familiar path home with a spring in his step. He hadn't been expecting that at all. Yuki and _Machi? _He didn't really know what most boys looked for in girls, but Kuragi always seemed so… plain, to him. Could a girl like that really have been the one to capture the Prince's elusive heart? She's succeeded even over his own beautiful Motoko. He couldn't understand why the prince would choose Machi over any other girl, but when it came down to it, he didn't care. He'd got exactly what he had been asking for, that's what mattered. It seemed that the almighty prince was now off limits. And when Yuki made it public… well, his fangirls would give him up, surely?

Maybe this wouldn't mean that Motoko would start loving him back. He could accept that. He just wanted to know he'd been _considered_. To have just a moment where he wasn't being dimmed into oblivion by the blinding sunlight of Prince Charming. He wasn't sure he was ready to let her go, but now he could really try his best. The main obstacle was out of the way. What was blocking her vision was now so inaccessible to her, she'd have to let herself see beyond…to him. Overshadowed by Yuki's presence in the school, but still he had never given up on her, he would have to become something in her eyes, surely? She'd have to acknowledge him, and that would mean more than he could easily express.

In the end, maybe Kuragi, destructive as she was, wasn't a demon after all. She was giving him a chance for the thing he loved most, even if she didn't know it. He supposed, in some extremely strange way, she was an angel, just wearing a very, very good disguise.


	23. Stupid Cupid

**Hi! So, last time was a part centred around Nao, so I thought this time, why not Kakeru? I just adore him XD He's such a completely fun character. I don't know if people are going to think his antics in this are out of character, but I just imagine him doing something so stupid, whilst thinking it to be the high of sophistication :P Anyway, I hope you enjoy this part, it was a lot of fun to write. Thank you for all my reviews last part, you guys rock! Also, Ibuberu made a veryyy good point. Yuki holding Machi should have made him transform... I got my Furuba timeline messed up. I was thinking Motoko graduates the same year as Yuki, by which time his curse is gone, but nope, she's a year older than him XD I'm really sorry. It's taught me to check before I write though. So thanks again for pointing it out, Ibuberu!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fruits Basket. Probably.**

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He was very _good _at this sort of thing, if he did say so himself. Natural talent, he supposed. Or maybe because his elementary school had been all boys, he had picked up a few tricks here and then. Never mind how he had come to acquire such brilliance though, the point was, he could now use it for something other than making teachers' lives that bit more unbearable. No, now he was going to use his skill, in what his mother called 'trouble-making', for good. He was going to make it so his sister simply _had _to confess her feelings to the president. Yes, Yellow was going to give her heart to Red, and he would gratefully receive it, his own being overflowing with love for her, and they would marry and have little orange babies. It'd be great. Kakeru would be an uncle!

"Hey, Machi, get over here!" Kakeru said, calling his sister to the doorway he was standing in, striking a nonchalant pose.

"Why?" She asked angrily. He'd grabbed her just as she was coming out of her class at the end of the day, and even he had to admit he had been a little rough with pulling her across the school to the spare classroom he had already got set up. Yuki would be inside, waiting. Kakeru had told him earlier that he needed to speak with him urgently and privately as soon as school finished, and to meet him in the said classroom.

"Just come here."

She sighed, and resignedly came over to where he stood. He smiled devilishly, then opened the door and pushed her inside in one movement. She didn't have a chance to protest before the door was slammed on her. He turned the key, which he had 'borrowed' from the janitor's key-ring, in the lock.

"Have fun, lovebirds." He called through the wood, then strode off, laughing, and altogether feeling rather pleased with himself. He'd give it an hour, maybe two, then he'd come back and let them out. That'd be plenty of time for a love declaration, right? In all the anime series he'd seen, in any case, it was always a pretty speedy affair. And that was without the help of a matchmaker like himself. Maybe he should capitalize on his up-until- now unrecognized talents. He should set up a business. A few thousand yen for every happy couple he got together. Yeah, he was sure he'd get loads from that. Probably more than from all his part-time jobs put together. In fact, he could probably charge more than a few thousand each. Twenty thousand wasn't that much, was it? People would definitely be willing to part with twenty thousand yen for guaranteed eternal love.

Of course, he wasn't going to be charging his first client. Machi was his little sister after all. He'd never ask money of her. But jeez… she and Yuki were so lucky to have him!

***

Yuki sighed as he walked up the corridor towards the classroom Kakeru had demanded that he meet him in for 'urgent business'. He didn't have any idea what this was going to be about, but he would be willing to put money on it being neither 'business' nor 'urgent'.

Was he in the right place? He thought momentarily. The classroom door was closed. That was odd. He twisted the handle. The door didn't budge. He was sure Kakeru had said here though…

"I'm going to kill you!" A voice suddenly yelled at him from the other side of the door. He took a step away in surprise. "Manabe, I know you're there. What's wrong with you?! Let me out!"

Machi?

She started pounding on the door. Yuki stood frozen for a minute, from shock and not knowing what to do. The hits on the door got faster, louder, and more desperate.

"_Please_, Manabe, just let me out! Please!" She sounded pretty distressed. How long had she been stuck in there?

"Um, Machi, it's Yuki." He said cautiously.

There was a moment of silence. All he could hear was her breathing, gasping for air, even through the barrier of the wood. She sounded out of breath. How long had she been yelling to let out for?

"President?" She said, more quietly, "Oh."

"Did Kakeru lock you in here?" He asked, approaching the door, tapping it lightly with his hand. It was thick. He doubted it could be broken down easily.

"Yeah…"

"Did he… say if he was coming back any time today?"

"No. He didn't say anything. He's such an…"

"Idiot?" Yuki suggested.

"Mm." She agreed, then went quiet.

"But you're okay?" He realised it was a slightly strange question given the situation, "I mean, other than being… locked in a classroom?"

"I'm okay." She said quickly, "Don't worry… I'm sure he'll come back… eventually. Don't feel you have to stay here, President."

"I can't leave you."

"I mean it, I'm fine. He's an idiot, but he's not _completely _brain dead. He wouldn't leave me stuck in here all night. Go home."

Yuki knew there was no way he could go. Whether it was reluctance to leave her alone like this, or just little faith in Machi's assessment of Kakeru's state of brain activity, he didn't know, but he was going to be here as long as she was now.

"Do you know why he decided to lock you in here?"

"No." She said, "I have no idea."

Something clicked in Yuki's mind. Ah. Kakeru had asked to meet him in the very classroom Machi was stuck in. Yet Kakeru was now nowhere to be seen. Machi was right. This took Kakeru's stupidity to whole new levels.

"I'm meant to be in there, too." Yuki said, he almost _almost_ smiled. This was beyond ridiculous. "He told me to meet him here. I guess he wanted me to already be in there when he locked you in."

"Oh," Machi was quiet again for a moment, "I think you're right. He thought two of us would be in here, he shouted 'Have fun, lovebirds' when he left, and…" Machi trailed off, apparently taking in what she'd just said, "He's such an idiot!" She said, trying to cover her embarrassment.

Yuki let out a small chuckle, which she heard.  
"It's not… funny." She said. If he didn't know better, he might have guessed there was a teeny, embarrassed smile on her face.

***

Kakeru whistled cheerily as he strode back from the library to the classroom. It'd been almost three hours. Plenty of time for declarations of undying love. In any case, he was hungry, and wanted to go home for dinner. Or, even better, Machi and Yuki would be so full of gratitude that they'd take him out to an expensive restaurant.

He turned into the corridor that housed the classroom, and stopped in his tracks. There, sitting with his back to the wood of the door, his head lolling to the side, and his eyes closed, was Yuki.

…Why was Yuki asleep in front of the classroom, when he was meant to be very much awake, busy falling desperately in love with Machi, _inside_ the classroom? Kakeru was, in a very rare instance, speechless. His plan had been flawless. Foolproof. How..? How had it _failed_?

His dreams of making serious yen from playing cupid were shattered before his very eyes. He was just about to storm over and kick Yuki into consciousness, when Yuki shifted in his sleep, turning his body to the side, still leaning against the door. His hand unconsciously stroked almost lovingly against the wood of the door.

A new spark of hope flashed through Kakeru. If Machi was in the same position as Yuki on the other side of the door, then that was romantic, right? In fact, it was very romantic. That guy… Shakespeare. Yeah, him. He'd written about lovers separated by a wall, or something. So it had to be good.

A grin spread across Kakeru's face. It would be such a shame to wake Yuki now. Instead, he tiptoed over, and placed the brass key on the ground right next to where Yuki sat. There. Now Yuki could let Machi out as soon as he woke up, and they could have a romantic walk home.

Kakeru walked away from the scene feeling rather pleased with what he'd achieved. In fact, it was better than what he'd set out for. At least he could guaranteed Yuki hadn't done anything untoward to his sister this way.

Jeez… he really _was_ a genius sometimes.

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**Just a note: The Shakespeare thing Kakeru's talking about is Pyramus and Thisbe, kind of a play within a play in A Midsummer Night's Dream. It also comes up in Romeo and Juliet, according to Wikipedia. See, this is my attempt to seem well-read XD**


	24. Is It Hot In Here?

**Hey! Just a quickie, light-hearted chapter, that was pretty fun to write. It doesn't make sense if you take it seriously. I mean, really, Yuki probably wouldn't be as gullible and dim as he is here XD The inspiration for this part was the quote, **"**You can pretend to be serious; you can't pretend to be witty." – Sacha Guitry. It says a lot about my mind that a cool quote like that could spark something like _this_, but there we go XD Hope you enjoy, and thanks for all your support, guys!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fruits Basket. Not even a _teeny_ bit.**

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"No way. _No way." _Kimi squealed, bouncing up and down on the spot, "Yun-Yun likes _Machi_?_ " _

"It's true, Kimi-chan." Kakeru said, looking smugly at Yuki, who had opened his mouth to protest. "Gonna deny it, Yun-Yun?"

Yuki let his mouth close slowly, without uttering a word.

"See? Proof right there." Kakeru said, "But they're not really getting anywhere. They're both idiots in love, so that's where you come in."

"Wha-? You need Kimi to make their love blossom?"  
"Exactly."

She smiled, ecstatic.

"Of course! As long as Yun-Yun promises that he'll still love Kimi best of all!"

Yuki chose to ignore the comment.

"I really… don't need help. Things will work out… in their own time."

"No, no, Yun-Yun," Kimi argued immediately, "You are the man, the prince, you must be pro-active in your love. You can't wait for the girl to make the first move, that's just rude. No, Kimi will help you woo Machi."

An acute and ominous feeling of dread fell over Yuki's entire being.

***

"I'm really not sure about this." Yuki said, already red in the face with what Kimi had told him to do.

"Don't be silly, Yun-Yun. Kimi's heart will be with any man who uses this kind of thing on her, so Machi, whose heart is much less in demand, won't be able to stop herself falling in love with you!" She smiled a smile that had no power of reassurance, then gave Yuki a sharp shove into the council room. Yuki suddenly felt an affinity with those walking to the gallows.

"Ah, uh, Machi?"

The brown haired girl looked up from her slightly disarrayed pile of work. Her eyes were innocent and questioning. He couldn't really go through with this… could he?

"Do you, uh, do you have a… map?" He asked, avoiding looking at her too directly.

Machi's response took a while to come, as if she was temporarily engaged in evaluating his sanity.

"I… have an atlas of Japan at home I think… um, why? Are you going on a trip?"

"Oh. No, um, nothing like that. I just… keep getting lost in your eyes." He wondered if it were possible to collapse from the heat of embarrassment. Machi was staring at him, her mouth open just a fraction. She was clearly rather at a loss for words.

Maybe it was only to kill the _very_ awkward silence that was building that he chose to continue. It certainly wasn't a decision based on common sense.

"You know, um, I didn't know that, uh, angels, that they could fly so low."

"E-excuse me?" Machi stuttered. Far from looking flattered, as Kimi had promised she would, she looked rather scared, as if Yuki had been replaced with a psycho maniac who could turn violent at any given moment.

"I was just, uh, thinking, is there, maybe, an airport nearby? Or is that just my… my heart taking off."

The look on Machi's face said everything. In that moment, he wanted nothing better than to be swallowed up by the ground, never to raise his head up into the sunlight again.

Silence enveloped, suffocating and mortifying, but it was better than… anything else that Kimi had given him to say.

Why? Why had he followed her advice? What part of him had thought that any good whatsoever could come from following Kimi's questionable ideas and romantic guidelines? He wanted to kick himself… No, even better, when he got home, he'd provoke Kyo into kicking him.

"Hey, guys." Kakeru said, suddenly strolling into the room, without a care in the world. He analyzed the scene in front of him in seconds. The silence, coupled with Machi's facial expression of frozen shock seemed to be enough for him to work it out.

"Ah, did it not go well, Yun-Yun?" He asked cheerfully. Yuki slowly edged his gaze away from Machi, to glare at Kakeru.  
"You… idiot. You absolute, complete, utter-"  
"Steady on, Yun-Yun." Kakeru moved to put an arm around his sister, who didn't respond for a moment. Her reaction time seemed to have been hindered somewhat. Even when she did eventually shrug him off, it wasn't with the violence she usually used to deflect any contact with him.

"You can't blame me or Kimi, Yun-Yun. She gave you some solid material, you know."

"Solid?" He replied, in disbelief.

"Yeah. So it's not our fault if you didn't use 'em right."

"How was I supposed-"

"You know, when I think about it, it was probably a bad idea from the start. You don't really seem cut out for this romantic stuff."

"It was stupid!" Yuki argued, "It was just… stupid things, and Machi," He turned away from Kakeru, to her, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so crude."

"Exactly!" Kakeru proclaimed, as if that had been his argument all the time, "Next time, be a man, and just _tell_ her that you love her."


	25. Midnight

**Just a short little part with an idea that I thought was cute. In fact, I think this is one of the shortest parts I've written so far. I'm training myself to not be so long-winded XD Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Next part is Christmas themed, and may or may not involve mistletoe XD Thanks guys, you're great, as always :P**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fruits Basket. Nope. Life's harsh.**

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Machi turned over again in her bed, coming back to facing the wall. She sighed. Why couldn't she sleep? Was her bed _always_ this uncomfortable? No, she usually managed to escape into unconsciousness the moment her head hit the pillow.

She sat up resignedly. She's been lying there for hours, and was no closer to getting to sleep. Tomorrow was a Sunday, so she didn't have school. It seemed pointless to continue wrestling with her brain to keep quiet and let her sleep. She swung her legs off the side of the bed, and made to get up, glancing at the illuminated numbers of her alarm clock. 11.59.

She paused where she sat. It would be a new day in sixty seconds. It was a strange thought, a single minute dividing two whole days. So much could happen in a day. But then again, sometimes even more could happen in a minute.

Machi shook her head impatiently, clearing the thoughts. Sleep deprivation was making her mind annoyingly philosophical.

Why was she watching the clock? Surely she could find something more productive to do with the long space of time between now and daybreak. Clean up her apartment, perhaps…

12.00. The changing of the numbers took her by surprise a little. She'd gone off in a daze. She _really_ should make another attempt at getting a decent night's sleep. Her mind was so _vague_ when she was tired.

Machi stood up, easing her leg muscles into operation after their couple of hours of rest. An icy glass of water would do her good. She was about to make the, rather hazardous in the dark, trip to the kitchen, when a sudden shrill ringing burst through the calm silence of the night.

Machi almost tripped over a long since broken lamp stand in her effort to rifle through her discarded schoolbag, and pull out the offending buzzing, flashing contraption. Even though she lived alone in the apartment, and it was doubtful her elderly neighbours would hear a thing, she felt conscious of just how _loud_ the phone was. Who in their right mind would be calling her now? Even insurance sales people had to sleep, didn't they?

"Hello?" She answered. She had no idea why she was whispering, but it felt somehow wrong to be talking at normal volume at this time of day.

"Uh, Machi? I've got the right number, haven't I?"

"President?" She hissed, "Wha-?"

"Oh, good, it is you." He sounded like he was smiling on his end of the line, "You sound weird."

"It's late."

"Or early. Depending on how you look at it."

Why was he _joking_ with her at, she glanced back at her clock, 12:02 in the morning?

"Is… is everything alright?" She asked cautiously, though he certainly didn't sound like there was any emergency.

"Of course. I just stayed up so I could be the first to talk to you today."

"E-excuse me?"

He laughed.

"Do you even know what the date is today?"

"No." She replied. Rarely did she know for sure. She _did_ have a calendar. Somewhere.

"I'll give you a clue," He paused, for dramatic effect, "Happy birthday, Machi!"

"Huh? Oh…" She had noted a few days ago that it had been coming up, but birthdays had never really been a big thing for her, so…

"You… stayed up just for that?"

"Yeah," He sighed, "I wanted to be the first to say it to you."

"… thank you."

He really was unlike anyone else she knew. She was sure she hadn't even told him when her birthday was.

She heard a muffled yawn.

"You should sleep." She instructed him. "You'll get sick if you don't."

"Okay." He agreed compliantly. "Goodnight, Machi."

"Goodnight." She pressed the end call button.

What a weird person.

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**A/N: If you're an Asian drama fanatic, you miiight possibly recognise where I got inspiration for this chapter from... Though it's kind of obscure. Pink Panther, Rainie Yang and mushroom-head haircuts are the only clues I'm giving XD**


	26. Snow Scene

**Ack, again it's quite a short part. But I told myself that I'd get a part up and ready for the 24th of December, so here it is. The basic premise of this part has got to be the most popular fic topic for Machi and Yuki, so I tossed some Kakeru in in a lame attempt to retain some originality, and hoped for the best XD I want to thank Sandra Chang for writing her _oh-_so-adorable holiday drabbles, which sparked me far enough to actually have something to update with in time for the holiday season XD Happy holidays, guys, have a good one whatever you're up to!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket. Also, the title of this chapter was stolen from an Antic Cafe song. And I don't own them either....**

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"FIRE!"

A ball of snow hit the shed the pair were currently taking cover behind.

"Ah, come on Yun-Yun! Come and fight like a man! I won't let you touch my sister if you don't prove you can be a knight as well as a princess!" Kakeru rushed off, laughing, obviously expecting this to illicit Yuki to follow him, a childish snowball in each hand.

"Don't." Yuki said in an instant, as he saw Machi make to get up, her cheeks flaming, her eyes enraged. His hand closed around her wrist briefly, calming her into thinking through the consequences of chasing her brother with the gardening rake lying nearby. "It only encourages him. He'll get bored in a minute and go tobogganing on a ring-binder from the council room or something."

Machi sat back down in the ankle-deep snow with an 'oof', her back coming to rest on the damp wooden wall of the sports equipment shed.

"When do you think it'll be safe to leave?" She asked.

"Give it ten minutes. With any luck he'll crash into a tree and knock himself out."

She nodded, her eyes slowly surveying the snow around them. It was far from being a perfect blanket, after the feet of hundreds of school students had run, played and built snowmen in it.

"This wasn't quite what I imagined when I said I'd make footprints in the snow with you." He laughed lightly, and her head snapped round. She looked beyond surprised he'd remembered, surely it couldn't mean to him anything like what it did to her.

"In the scene in my head, for starters, Kakeru had been mysteriously absent."

"…oh. Yes, I didn't… I mean…"

"I've hoped for a while though that it might snow. When I was younger, I was sick a lot, so I wasn't allowed out to just… walk in it, and enjoy it, I guess."

"There's nothing enjoyable in snow." Machi countered immediately, crossing her arms around her chest.

Yuki laughed.

"You look cute when you frown."

Machi immediately reddened, and turned her head away from him, with a whispered mutter of 'stupid'.

"But even cuter when you blush." He teased, and then sighed contentedly. "I don't think snow's that bad. It's very pretty."

"Maybe." She said quietly, "But it's more annoying than anything."

"Annoying?"

"It's so cold, so if you forget your gloves or something, it's not… it's just cold."

Yuki glanced slowly down at Machi's hands, and a grin spread slowly across his face. The tips of her bare fingers were bright red.

"Ah, you forgot your gloves today?"

"M-maybe." She said, pointlessly ambiguously.

"Well," Yuki paused, and Machi looked around to see what he was doing. He was staring at his own hands. "I know the good, prince-ly thing to do now would be to give you mine, but…"

His hand reached out to her cheek in an instant, she didn't have time to withdraw. The icicle cold skin of his fingers made contact with her numb cheek, but there was still a sudden slight burning sensation in the spot he had touched.

He laughed at the startled expression on her face. She attempted to hold his gaze in a threatening glare, something she was only too practiced at with her brother, but found herself looking away in an instant. Now both of her cheeks were burning again.

"Next year though, I think we should both be sure to be better equipped for walking in the snow."

"Huh?" She looked around in an instant, "N-next year?"

"Mm." He nodded. "Next year. And if we forget our gloves that year too, that's okay, because another year will come after that. Another snowfall. Another set of footprints."

"H-how… how can-?"

His gaze on her was softer now, the rare mischievous glint he'd had in his eyes a moment ago was gone.

"I don't want this to be the only time, Machi." He said, "I made the promise to walk with you in the snow, but it wasn't a onetime thing. Until you tell me you don't want me anymore, I'll be here. Every time is snows, I want to walk by your side."


	27. Secret Virtues

**I set about writing this part with the intention of writing something still slightly Christmas-themed, 'tis the season and all, but... this has nothing whatsoever to do with that XD It's just a random little idea I wanted to write, set after volume 17 or 18 of the manga, I think? (I should probably double check...) Basically, it's some time shortly after Yuki and Kakeru go round to Machi's apartment to ask about the rumours the girls from her class were talking about. If you haven't read that far in the manga, don't read this! It's cute, so go read _that_ now instead XD Anyway, thanks to all you guys reading this! **

**DISCLAIMER: I didn't get ownership of Fruits Basket for Christmas. :(**

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"Sohma-kun! Sohma-kun! Come and eat lunch with us!" A girl called, her gaggle of friends surrounding her nodding earnestly.

It was the same routine. Every lunchtime he was invited to spend time with his fans, girls who would spend the entirety of the hour giggling amongst one another and gawping at him as if were some rare exhibit in the zoo, all the while he grew more and more uncomfortable.

He could deal with this kind of attention every so often, and would endure it so as not to hurt their feelings, but not today. He couldn't do it today. He had other things on his mind.

***

"I'm surprised she had the nerve to show up today." Was the first thing Yuki heard as he made his way into the school building that morning. A pair of girls were muttering together, and casting glances at a lone figure clutching her schoolbag tightly as she pretended not to hear.

"I know! I mean, everyone knows now don't they? What she did to her little brother… it's appalling. I always thought she was weird, right from the start."  
"If I was her, I'd just quit high school. She's not exactly going to make any friends now, is she?"

"At least she didn't have any to lose to begin with." The girls snickered, and Yuki felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise.

"Excuse me." He said with more force than was absolutely necessary, waiting impatiently for them to part to let him through.

"Oh, sorry, Sohma-kun, we didn't see you there!"

"No, sorry to get in your way!"

He didn't grace them with a polite reply as he would normally have done. How could they be saying those things? They had absolutely no proof other than silly rumours floating around. To think they'd ostracize her on just that…

"Machi!" He called, making the two gossiping girls jolt in surprise. He was too late, she'd already disappeared around the corner, to her next class.

***

He didn't know where she usually went at lunchtimes. His first instinct was to ask Kakeru, but he really didn't want to set him off into a tirade about something stupid.

"Hey, do you know a girl called Kuragi?" Yuki asked a small passing girl, who looked shocked that he had addressed her.

"Machi?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yeah. Machi."

"Uh, yes, um… she's in my class."

"Do you know where she is right now?"

"She usually eats by herself in the classroom." The girl indicated with her hand to the room she had just vacated herself.

"Thanks." Yuki said, and the girl blushed, scurrying away to tell her friends about her encounter.

Yuki opened the door to the unfamiliar classroom, and glanced around quickly. There were only a few people in there, two of whom were asleep with their heads on the desks, one was studying fervently, and…

"Machi!" Yuki greeted, relieved to see her looking pretty much as she always did. It seemed as if his voice had just brought her back from a daydream. She didn't look scared and upset by the vicious rumours that were swirling around the school as he had feared she might.

"President?" She was surprised.

"Hi!" He greeted with genuine warmth, pulling the desk next to hers closer to her, and sitting down.

"What are you-?"

"I wanted to spend lunch-break with you, if I'm not intruding." Yuki said cheerfully, taking his lunchbox from his bag.

"…Why?" It occurred to her before he had a chance to answer, "You don't need to feel sorry for me, President."

"I don't-"

"It doesn't matter what they think. They'll keep this up for a couple of days and then get bored and forget. It doesn't matter."

"But if they're hurting you-"

"They're not. What others think of me… isn't important."

He paused before replying,  
"You're really strong, you know? I wish I could be like that sometimes."

"…It's not like that." She denied, "I just… I'm happy that one other person believes me, so it would be stupid to get upset over people who don't mean anything to me."

A small smile formed on Yuki's lips as he took in a mouthful of egg roll. Was she admitting that he meant something to her?

"Kakeru believes you too, you know." He reminded her.

"No, I mean it's nice to have one _sane_ person believe me."

He laughed, and she let him see a rare smile.

She was right. So what if the rest of the school was temporarily against her? If she was okay, and he knew the truth, what people were saying didn't matter.


	28. New Year

**A little something to celebrate the New Year, which has been in for an hour now where I am. Wherever you are in the world, whether it's the New Year for you now or whether you're still waiting, I hope you have an amazing time, and a wonderful start to 2010!**

**Really random note: You may notice in this part, I hate hate_ hate_ using actual numbers in fiction writing. I just write the words out. I don't know why XD**

**Dislaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket. Maybe next year.**

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"_Ten."_

She wondered idly if he was watching the same channel right at that moment, the seconds descending on the oversized clock on the flickering screen. Probably not. Was he with Honda-san and the other Sohmas? Were they waiting with anticipation under the perfectly black sky for the coming of the New Year, with a firework display to welcome it?

In her lonely kitchen, the tap dripped once.

"_Nine."_

From the look on Kyo's face, as he watched Tohru busily darning one of his socks, her eyes glued to the second-hand of the clock, it was obvious there was no other place he'd rather be. No-one he'd rather see in the New Year with.

Last year, Yuki had felt the same, but now… was Machi okay at this very moment? Kakeru said he was inviting her around to celebrate with him and Komaki, but what if she'd refused, out of misplaced feelings of intruding?

"_Eight."_

She should have gone to spend New Year's with Kakeru and Komaki, but she just _couldn't_. Spending New Year's alone was marginally less pathetic than forcing her company onto others.

"_Seven."_

He felt like an intruder, more and more so as the seconds ticked away. Shigure had gone to spend New Year's at the main house, and by the way Kyo was glaring, it was obvious he thought that 'the damn rat' should have tagged along too. Yuki noticed briefly that Kyo's hand was edging closer to Tohru's, which she had just lain down on the table.

"_Six." _

Should she just go to bed? The faces of the happy and excited people waiting with baited breath on the screen were just depressing her. How could they be so positive and buzzing, when they in fact had no idea what the new year had in store for them?

"_Five."_

Tohru passed him a handmade onigiri with a small smile, though her attention was still on the orange haired boy sat beside her. He thanked her, despite his lack of appetite. It was round and perfect, not a single grain of rice broke the mould. Yuki couldn't hold back a wry smile. Machi would possibly be the only person in the world who'd prefer his cooking to Tohru's.

"_Four."_

Machi fiddled absently with the fur on her Mogeta plushie, and her stomach gave an unexpected growl. She didn't have any ingredients to make a real dinner out of. Before every shopping trip, she made a list of food that would get her through the week, yet somehow it always got lost in the general debris littering her apartment before she got out the door.

"_Three."_

'I have so much to be thankful for this year.' Tohru thought out loud. Kyo's eyes were soft, with none of the fire that Yuki usually sparked from him. He didn't care that Yuki was in the room anymore. She was the only thing he could see.

'Me too.' Yuki said, without thinking. Kyo hissed at him, but couldn't dislodge the memories running through his mind of his time on the school council so far. Time with good, _good_ people. Fun times. And her. She couldn't help but be at the forefront of every memory, even if she fought to dissolve into the background.

"_Two."_

She might as well stay up now. It was none of her business, but was he having fun? She hoped so. She hoped he was smiling, that real smile that Honda-san had taught him.

Tradition dictates for her to make a wish in a moment. She knew only too well that wishes didn't come true just because you wanted them to, but she had nothing to lose…

She hoped that he would always be able to smile like that, but she wouldn't wish it. She hoped something more solid than a meaningless New Year's wish would keep him smiling.

"_One."_

'Huh, ah, Yuki-kun?" Tohru stuttered, unwilling to take her eyes from the clock, 'Where are you going?"

'There's someone I've got to wish a happy New Year to.' He garbled, pulling on his shoes, as Kyo muttered 'Weirdo.'

Of course he wouldn't get there to wish her a happy New Year at the clock struck twelve. But that didn't matter. After all, it was a whole new three hundred and sixty five days. There was so much time left for them. It was only the beginning.

"_Zero."_

Fireworks. Champagne. Kisses. And the promise that it was going to be a very happy new year for the both of them.


	29. Colour Me Pretty

**Eeeh, this has taken more than three weeks coming. I'm really sorry. Exams are over now though, so I can get back on track with some Yuki/Machi goodness. This part is really just a little thing I did in about a hour so I had something to update this fic with. Haha, completely randomly, but I go through phases with punctuation. My old thing was commas. Commas _everywhere_. Now it's ellipses. How cool are they, after all? I thought I'd better say that because it's probably quite annoying how much I use and abuse them in this part. XD I'm currently working on two much longer parts, one fun, one angsty. I'm excited about them, I'm aiming for 2000 words plus for each, and I haven't posted anything that long in a while XD I'll get them up ASAP. Anyway, thank you to everyone who reviewed, and just everyone reading. You guys? Yeah, you're great. Hope you enjoy this part!**

**DISCLAIMER: Maybe I own it. Maybe I don't... Probably the second one.**

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"Don't stop me, Machi!" Kakeru said joyfully, intent on his work, as Machi walked in. She had a slight curiosity to what he was doing. Never before had she come in to find Kakeru hard at work. The tip of his tongue was poking out of the corner of his mouth, and his brow was furrowed in concentration. It was only when Machi sat down in her usual seat that she could see the subject of Kakeru's efforts.

Yuki's head was resting on his hand, his form slumped over his desk. He was breathing deeply and slowly. Kakeru sat unnaturally close to him, a pink starry make-up case on his lap. He was currently engaged in applying some starting red nail varnish onto the President's nails.

"How do you girls_ do_ this?" Kakeru demanded, "I keep getting it all over his fingers."

"Manabe… Why are you painting the president?"

It was true that Kakeru had indeed not limited himself to only nails. Yuki's eye-lids had a distinct pink shimmer, with wonky eyeliner running across them, and an alarming shade of blush was clashing against the skin of his cheeks.

"I borrowed Komaki's make-up." He said, offering no further explanation.

"You know, when he wakes up… he'll probably hit you."

"How's he possibly going to know it was me?" Kakeru laughed loudly, and Yuki stirred in his sleep. Kakeru flung a palm over his mouth to silence himself.

Machi didn't bother with a reply. If Kakeru couldn't see for himself that the only person who would feel possessed to put make-up on the president was him, then it seemed too much of a lost cause for her to trouble herself with him. The president would no doubt be able to deal with Kakeru personally when he woke up.

"Ah!" Kakeru exclaimed suddenly, as he accidentally jabbed a mascara wand into Yuki's closed eye. Yuki groaned, as he started to rouse. Kakeru was up in an instant, grabbing up his tools , and leaving the offending mascara implement where it dropped on the floor, as he scurried out of the room, but not before flashing Machi a quick, "Cover for me!".

"Huh?" Yuki murmured, as he blinked sleepily, raising his head from his desk. His eyes found Machi, and she looked away, quickly. She couldn't laugh. She just _couldn't._

"Why does my face feel…" He experimentally wiped his cheek with the back of his hand. His eyes widened at the dusting of pink he found. "What the…"

"Check the mirror." Machi said quietly, refusing to let her eyes fall on him.

He stumbled over to the full-length mirror that Kimi had petitioned the teachers to have fitted in the council room.

"Oh." Was all he could say for a moment, as he caught sight of his reflection. It took a moment before he spun around on his heel, anger hitting him like a bolt of lightning.

"Kakeru!" He yelled out. "I can't believe he did this! He's so… he's just… Ugh. I'm sorry, Machi." Yuki said, resignedly, sitting down on a desk top. There was no point trying to pursue Kakeru now. He'd be long gone, and the next time he saw Yuki, he'd feign to have no recollection of the incident anyway.

"Why… why are you apologizing, President?" Machi asked, looking towards him, but making sure not to stare directly. She couldn't trust herself.

"For having to see me like this." He said, "Why can't Kakeru stop embarrassing-"  
"It's shouldn't be embarrassing." Machi said, silently hating her half-brother for how unexpectedly hurt Yuki was looking at that moment. However, more than that, she was hating herself. She knew that if she was a good person, just seeing his expression would be enough that her face would be one of upmost seriousness, but…

"Huh? Are you… Machi, are you laughing?" Yuki looked positively bemused. She wanted to look back at him and deny it vehemently, but really, how could a boy look so good with such excessive amounts of gaudy eye shadow?… Had she really just thought that? What was _wrong_ with her?

"M-Machi?" Yuki slowly let a smile grow on his face. "Are you okay?"

"I'm… I'm so sorry, president. You just look really…"

"Stupid? Yeah. Not as stupid as your brother's going to look when I'm through with him."

"No… You just look really cute."

In an instant, the President turned the _exact _shade of his nails.

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**A/N: My inspiration for this chapter came, firstly, from that really early chapter of Fruits Basket, where Yuki puts on a dress for the cultural festival, and gets really embarrassed about it. Secondly, from the Furuba second drama CD, where Yuki calls Machi cute and she gets all flustered by it. Yeah, this whole part is kind of a reply to that. Why should it only be Yuki doing all the adorable flirting, after all? XD**


	30. Beautify

**Hi there! Okay, this isn't one of the two longer parts I promised. This is another part that I intended to keep short, but it outgrew its status. I feel I should have some kind of warning with this one, mainly because it has more suggestive themes than any of the others I've written. In plain language, Yuki's gone pervy XD But I'm fairly sure it's too mild for any real warning. So I'm gonna be a daredevil and say, this part has NO WARNINGS. Yep. Thanks to all readers and reviewers. Food for my soul. Also, if there's any Machi/Yuki thing you particularly want to see in this fic, do let me know. I'm studying hard for school. Ideas are at an all time low. So yeah, anyway that aside, I hope you enjoy this part! **

**(PS. The two fabled longer parts should be the two after this one with any luck)**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except the electronic ink this is written with. Yeah.**

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He knew he was being unfair to be cursing Komaki's presence like he was – after all, she was only trying to help, and he knew that if Machi was left to her own devices, she would make no effort whatsoever to look special for her graduation, but still…

When he had arrived perhaps only twenty minutes before, he had been greeted by Komaki at the door, and the sound of running water from the bathroom.

"Ah! Yuki-kun, it's good you're here. Machi's been looking forward to you coming. She's just in the shower right now."

Komaki continued to talk, and Yuki tried his best to pay attention to what she was saying, as she lead him into the small living room of his girlfriend's apartment. Yet he was somehow having trouble trying to get the image out of his head of Machi… only a matter of meters away, in the shower, and-

When had he become so perverted? He hadn't seen her for over three months. It should be her company that he most wanted back, he should not be thinking about…_ that_. Ugh. He was more like his brother than he had ever imagined.

"Uh, Yuki-kun?" Komaki inquired politely, a concerned look in her eyes, "Are you feeling okay? You look kind of flushed?"

Damn, it was even showing on the outside.

"I'm fine, thank you. Just… walked a little fast coming here."

"Ah, okay." Komaki stopped and smiled warmly, "Looking forward to see Chi-chan, then?"

"Definitely." He said, before he could stop himself to make a more neutral answer.

As if on cue, the water from the bathroom shut off.

"She won't be a minute. I told her to not do anything about drying her hair. I want to do it for her so I can put some volume into it in the same time."

"Right." Yuki nodded, as if he knew what she was talking about. He knew shapes, buildings, and objects could have volumes. It was news to him that the same applied to hair.

Komaki continued to talk excitedly about her plans to get Machi looking her 'absolute prettiest' for her graduation ceremony, including some indecipherable moisturizing run-through, and a deliberation over nail varnish shades. Yuki continued to nod in what he hoped were the right places.

"Oh." Machi stepped into the room, taking Yuki by surprise as he had been listening out for her, yet hadn't heard her coming. "You're here already?"

Yuki turned, and stood up from the sofa that Komaki had seated him on. For a moment, breath seemed beyond him.

Machi was standing before him wearing less than he had ever seen her in. An oversized t-shirt hung off her small frame, acting as a kind of mini-dress, and just under the hem, not that he would let his eyes roam that far for more than a few seconds, were the just-barely-visible cuffs of a pair of fabric shorts.

"Chi-chan, you must be cold! Didn't you dry your hair at all? You're dripping!" Komaki hurried over to her, a towel in hand.

"You told me not to."

"I just meant don't use a hairdryer on it. You should have done it enough so that you won't catch hypothermia." Komaki paused her rubbing of Machi's hair momentarily, "Oh, I guess you were just as eager as Yuki-kun for your reunion, then? He walked here so fast he was all red in the face." She laughed, rather like a parent fussing over her daughter and the approved-of boyfriend.

Neither of them replied to this. Machi accidentally caught Yuki's eye over Komaki's shoulder, and looked away in an instant, embarrassed.

"Come sit down." Komaki said, leading Machi by the hand over to the seat next to Yuki. She indicated for him to sit himself down once again, too.

This was too much. Machi's pale and bare knee was mere inches away from his own leg.

He appreciated Komaki helping. She was such a kind person, after all. But what she was doing for Machi, he could do that, right? Drying her beautiful, silky long hair with a towel? Hardly rocket science. He would be more than happy to take her place. After all, surely Komaki had to go and get ready herself for the graduation ceremony? The moisturizing thing too. Komaki had probably just made that sound much more complicated than it actually was, right? After all, he was in a prestigious college, and he was getting some of the highest marks on his course. This kind of thing _must_ be within his capabilities.

"Chi-chan, I brought my eye-lash curler today, as well. I think it'll make your eyes look absolutely lovely."

Eye-lash curler? How could you… how was that even possible? Okay, maybe he wouldn't have a go with that. He didn't want to blind Machi, after all. She'd probably kick him if he did that.

"Oh, no!" Komaki looked suddenly aghast, "Lipstick! I completely forgot to bring my case…"  
"It doesn't matter. I don't like wearing lipstick anyway." Machi replied neutrally.

"No, I'll have to pop home and get it. I've got this shade that'll look just gorgeous with your skin tone."

Komaki seemed to be dithering over something for a moment, as Yuki's interest had suddenly been brought right back into the present.

"Yuki-kun, could you finish up towel-drying Machi's hair for her? Don't touch the hairdryer till I get back though." With that, she made for the door, grabbing her handbag as she went, and leaving the pair alone.

"It's okay, Yuki-senpai." Machi said, as Yuki picked up the towel that Komaki had just put in his lap.

"I can do this myself."  
"No, no, it's better to have help with these things." He cautiously and ineffectively dabbed at her hair with the towel, not really sure how rough you were meant to be with these things. He didn't really care. All he was conscious of was how close to his girlfriend he was now. It'd been three months, after all…

"Uh, Yuki?" Machi said, as he began to lean in even closer, "Are you sure… you don't want me to-"

He cut her off with his lips over hers. Wow, it really had been a long time. His fingers tangled into her damp hair, as he pushed her back against the arm of the sofa.

"Yuki." Machi said urgently, pushing him back slightly, so his lips were a frustrating couple of inches away from hers.

"Komaki doesn't live far away. It might not take her all that long to get back."

"Let's hope Kakeru's there, then. She'll be stuck there for hours."

The distance between them disappeared once again.


	31. Apologize

**I know I promised to actually get the longer chapters up next. I'm doing really badly at them XD I'm thinking of scrapping one altogether. I hope to get the other one up tonight or tomorrow, and I have a _killer _idea for a replacement for the scrapped one that I really want to write. So my muse has been good to me, I to the present, this part is short-ish, but it's Valentine's Day tomorrow, I couldn't have forgiven myself if I hadn't got something V-Day themed to update with! WARNING: I set about this chapter with the intent of writing happy Valentine's love. It did not turn out that way. It's angst, in short. XP I guess it balances out the fluff. But I hope you enjoy, anyway, and thank you all so much for reading and reviewing. Happy Valentine's Day to everyone, and happy Year of the Tiger! (Kisaaa!)**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fruits Basket. I also don't own an actual fruits basket. Weird how these things turn out, huh?**

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Machi noticed an air of excitement engulfing the school the moment she walked in that morning. Girls were huddled in groups, gossiping, hoping, fretting and anticipating. After passing a few huddles of these said girls, and grasping wisps of conversation as she passed, she came to the unexciting conclusion that today was the day that the posters plastered along many of the halls and corridors in Kaibara High had been notifying the students of. Today was the 14th of February. To Machi, just another day, not dissimilar to the three hundred and sixty five others that she would live through that year. To most of the female sex, it was a day to see if their hearts, put on the line on White Day the month before, were to be graciously accepted, or cruelly crushed.

Machi trod her familiar path to class, the heightened emotional state of the rest of her sex having no effect on her. She just wanted to get through the day as usual. However, she couldn't help but note the _particularly_ startling bunch of girls ahead. Unlike all the others, they weren't quiet and conspiratorial in their speculations. Indeed, they were full out intimidating. The targets of their attack were the orange haired Sohma, and Honda. The moment Machi was within earshot, she had no trouble guessing who they were. The Prince Yuki Fan Club.

"What do you _mean _he's absent today?" One of the talent girls demanded, squaring on the orange haired boy, whose scowl was growing deeper by the minute.

"I meant what I said! And why's it my problem if that damn rat's not in anyway?"

"But how can he not be in?" Said one of the members, who was starting to look slightly scared by the prospect, "It's _Valentine's _day. He has to be in!"

"Um… that is," Honda started cautiously, "Yuki-kun said his stomach was hurting, so thought it best not to come to school today, but stay home and rest instead."

Machi realised that she had unconsciously stopped, and that what she was doing was eavesdropping on a topic that had nothing to do with her.

"Ah!" Honda said suddenly, and Machi started when she realised her eyes were solely on her.

"Kuragi-san!" Honda said, trying to politely move through the Fan-Club, despite the wall they were building to prevent her.

"Where are you going?" The orange Sohma asked, obviously unhappy at the prospect of being left alone to deal with the enraged group of girls.

"I just need to speak with Kuragi-san! I'll meet you in class, Kyo-kun."

Despite the intense rallying she had just received, Honda looked, admirably, as cheerful as ever.

"You want to speak… with me?" Machi asked slowly. She'd never exchanged words with the girl now in front of her before. She was surprised that the girl even knew who she was.

"Um," Honda tried to move the pair of them so they were a little away from the Fan-Club girls, who were curious of the business between the witch and the demon treasurer, and whether or not it related to their precious Prince Yuki.

"That is… Here." Honda pulled a beige envelope out of her schoolbag, and handed it to her, "Yuki-kun asked me to give you this."

The bell rang suddenly, preventing any further explanation. With a quick wave and a warm smile, Honda was gone, back to meet up with the orange-haired Sohma in their classroom.

Confused, Machi let the envelope slip into her own bag, and she made her own way to class.

**

Late in the afternoon, standing by the now deserted locker area, Machi fingered the unpretentious envelope uncertainly. She pulled it close to her chest as a stray couple of girls passed, speaking dreamily of the romantic propositions and gifts they had received that day.

The front of the envelope did indeed bare her name, in a scrawl that was far more untidy that one would think possible from someone widely deemed at the 'prince' of the school. It was definitely for her, Honda hadn't made a mistake, as she had been speculating throughout her lessons that day.

She carefully pulled up the leaf of the envelope, taking caution not to rip the paper. The contents inside made her check the name on the front once again, just to be sure. This surely couldn't be for her?

It was a stock standard Valentine's Day card, red with a pink heart, decorated with white swirls and the word 'Love' written out several times in fancy gold Roman script.

Her fingers were shaking slightly as the opened the card to reveal its interior.

More of Yuki's handwriting, familiar only from council documents, laced the inside.

_To Machi,_

_I wanted to give you this myself, but I couldn't do I in the end._

_I'm a coward._

_There's still so many things I'm not ready to face yet._

_I'm sorry._

_Yuki. _


	32. Can You Keep A Secret?

**This part has been a long time coming. I'm scared it's an anti-climax after all the promoting of these elusive longer chapters I've been doing XD It's not even that long... But still, it's done and finished, and I'm so-so about the result. My writing skills are rusty at the moment. Thank you so, so much to all those who've reviewed, and to those reading. Hope you like this part!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fruits Basket. Not even a tincy wincy bit :(**

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It was such small, _small_ things. Was it just her imagination? Probably. Was she just overreacting? Almost definitely. After all, he had always been honest with her, hadn't he? Soon after they had gotten together, he'd explained in painful detail about how his relationship with Honda had been. He was so embarrassed by it, he thought it made him seem like a needy child. He obviously didn't want her to know about this side of him, but still he'd told her. Just as she'd told him about her own family, despite the fact that it was a section of her life she just wanted to muffle and block out. She knew she could trust him with anything, and she'd hoped that maybe he'd feel the same about her, but now…

She couldn't ask him, could she? That'd just be too forward and accusing. No, she'd have to wait to see if he said anything. Assuming there was something to say. She had no real evidence, so why did it keep rolling over in her mind? Just tiny mannerisms and incidents, blink-and-you'll-miss-it kind of things. Maybe this was all just because she was still slightly taken aback that he could really want her. It was a new feeling to her, so maybe she was looking for signs that it could all just be a horrible, sick joke that the world was playing on her. Maybe it was just paranoia and hyper-sensitivity on her part. But still…

***

Had it been the new year that she started to notice things? It seemed about then. The celebrations for the coming of the year of the tiger were all across town. People were buzzing with talk of parties, family gatherings and fireworks. She'd never really celebrated the Chinese new year much herself, but she had overhead Momiji in class talking about the immense festivities that went on to welcome in the new year at the Sohma main house. Yuki was scheduled to be on a couple of weeks break over the period, so she had assumed that he would go back to visit the main Sohma compound and celebrate.

The evening of the eve of the new year had come around, and Yuki was sat in her apartment, watching a inane soap-opera on her flickering television. She hadn't succeeded in directly asking him about going to the Sohma house, as every time she had raised the subject of new years, he had almost desperately scouted around for a new topic to change to. Now, as she watched him curiously from behind her coffee table, she cleared her throat to ask him.

He stood up in an instant, letting the television continue to jabber to itself behind him as he stretched out his legs.

"Shall I go and get a pizza?" He asked, his voice unnaturally loud. Had he guessed what she was going to say, and this was just an attempt to avoid having to answer?

"Uh, do you know what today is?"

Yuki was not the most organised of people, but he was usually with it enough to know the date.

"Do you want your usual? Pineapple and ham?" He asked, ignoring her question, grabbing his coat, as she nodded wordlessly.

The door slammed behind him, and she felt a distinct sense of unease in her gut.

***

The new year's incident passed in the end. Yuki in himself didn't seem altered in any way. He didn't seem unhappy, or angry at her for perhaps inquiring into something that was difficult, unpleasant or painful for him for whatever reason. Maybe if it had just been that, she would have let it go. But there was something else that she just couldn't understand.

To Machi, being in a relationship had taken some getting used to. Never having had affection from her parents, just the intimacy of it took her by surprise. Walking along the road, once an isolating experience for her, was now done with her hand encased in his. He would swing their entwined hands happily every now and then, as he cheerfully chattered to her about this and that, all the while her marvelling at the new sense of warmth that surrounded her. Occasionally, when no-one was looking, he would steal a quick kiss on her cheek, making her blush, but at the same time making her long for time alone with just him.

Although all of this had been a series of brand new experiences for her, after a couple of months she had adjusted to this. The physical contact no longer took her by surprise, or made her turn several shades of red. She could now just enjoy it for what it was, without embarrassment or awkwardness. And for the most part, Yuki was the same. He seemed to enjoy that he had permission to hold her hand as they walked, or playfully peck her cheek when Kakeru had gone into the kitchen to get more snacks. It was just…

***

She's arrived back from school earlier than usual. Although usually when school let out early, she would wander around town a bit to kill some time before facing the emptiness of her apartment, this time Yuki was visiting, making it something worth coming home to. Since it had been weeks since she had last seen him, she wanted to have as long with him as possible.

He can't have heard as she let herself into her apartment. She didn't receive a greeting as she made her way into the main living area, uncharacteristically carefully placing her school bag down in the entrance way. The moment her eyes captured his now so familiar form, a flood of warmth flushed through her. He looked so innocent and sweet. The television was on, day-time television being the only noise in the entire apartment. His head was in his hand, his eyes looking bleary. He looked right on the brink of sleep.

"Yuki." She said quietly, padding her way over to him in her socks. He didn't seem shocked by her sudden appearance. He smiled sleepily up at her. It was obvious he had been lying to her when he had assured her that he was getting seven hours sleep a night at college. She didn't trust he wasn't studying too hard.

"Machi. How was school?" He asked quietly. As she got closer, she could see the dark circles under his eyes.

In one swift movement, she lunged into him, throwing her arms around his neck, and snuggling into the crook of his neck, his smell familiar, like the scent of summer evenings after a long and harsh winter.

The effect was immediate. His whole body stiffened, and she was pushed backwards, to a safe arms length. Glancing, slightly shocked and questioning, as Yuki's face, the traces of sleep that had been there only seconds before were long gone. She didn't trust her ability to read people, but to her at that moment, he looked frightened, his eyes a rabbit in the headlights stare.

"Y-Yuki?" She asked questioning, "I'm… I'm sorry. Did I… Should I not have-"  
"No, I'm sorry, I didn't… I was just a little surprised is all." He attempted a smile. It was as fake as the one that she gave in return.

***

She should let this go of these stupid thoughts and suspicions before Yuki noticed something. She wouldn't be able to act normal, a relative term as it was, if all she could think about when he was around was if he was keeping something hidden from her. What would she become next, one of those stalking, obsessive girlfriends who played the villains in all the TV dramas she'd ever seen?

"Machi?"

She looked up, jolted from her dangerous ponderings.

"How are you coming along with that essay?" Yuki asked, seating himself across from her on the small kitchen table. The lined paper under her elbow lay guiltily empty.

"Almost there." She lied pointlessly, covering the barrenness with her arm.

"Oh good." She didn't like the expression on his face. Something about it made her uneasy, and she couldn't express in words why.

"Look, uh, Machi, we need… we need to talk."

How many romance movies had featured those words as a key line? Maybe the look on her face gave away what she associated them with. 'The Talk', capitalised for being such a cliché.

"Ah, not like that." He smiled at her, but it was broken somehow, more for her benefit than a conveyance of true humour. "Just…"

She didn't know what to say to take away the slightly tortured look that was suddenly present in his eyes. She wanted to know what put it there, but at the same time she was scared to find out.

"There's something… from my past… I think it's time for you to know."

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**A/N: This part isn't going to lead onto a part where Yuki actually tells Machi about the curse. I'm too chicken to do that, I couldn't do it justice. If you want to read about that, Sandra Chang's Yuki/Machi fic has an absolutely amazing chapter where he reveals about the curse, so go read that instead. I promise, it'll turn your insides to warm fuzzy marshmallow XD**


	33. Love Is Dead

**Hi! So, at an all time creative slump, I've decided to do the good old challenge of putting your itunes on shuffle and writing ten drabbles in the duration of the first ten songs that randomly play. So, because publically embarrassing yourself by showing people some of the stuff you have on your itunes is a great idea, here we go :) Numero uno. The song is Love Is Dead by Tokio Hotel. Part inspiration credit also goes to Sandra Chang, whose Yuki/Machi chapters based around the Cinderella play helped spark this idea :D**

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The words on the stock-standard postcard meant nothing to Machi. False platitudes and apologies from her parents on why she hadn't been invited to join in yet another family vacation, this time to Okinawa. To begin with, something had stabbed through her every time she received one of these postcards. Now, nothing. She didn't care anymore. Her heart didn't care anymore. Any love that had been left for her parents, it was long disappeared, finally destroyed by too many disappointments and rejections.

Anyway, it didn't matter. Glancing at the fresh white ticket in her other hand, 'Cinderella' written in bold type across the top, she felt something akin to contentedness. She'd been invited to something even better, by her very own fairy godmother.


	34. Killer Queen

**Song: Killer Queen by Queen (this was a tough one...). This part was also sliiightly inspired from a scene in the latest eppie of Down With Love.**

** Oh, also, forgot in the last part:**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Furuba, Queen or Tokio Hotel (covering myself for the last part)**

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The first time Yuki saw Machi wear anything that might be considered acutely feminine was at Komaki and Kakeru's wedding, where she didn't really have a choice. Still he was a little taken aback at her selection. Low cut and made from red silk, she looked…

He was her boyfriend, he shouldn't be embarrassed or feel wrong thinking it of her like this, but she looked… well, sexy. Like a woman from a perfume or shampoo commercial. Only better. Because she was Machi. And however many sexy women there were in the world, there was only one Machi.


	35. Over My Head

**Song: Over My Head (Cable Car) by The Fray**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Furuba OR The Fray.

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He didn't know at what point exactly he had realised he was going to lose Tohru. Maybe it hadn't been an exact moment, just something he had come to realise and accept over time. If it had been a jolt at one precise momentm it probably would have killed him. He wouldn't have believed in life after Tohru, away from her motherly, caring, reliable presence. And if he had been told only a few months ago that it would be _Kyo _that he would lose Tohru to… He would have thrown that cat through the roof. He would have done anything to get rid of him.

But now, he was sad to lose Tohru, but there was something else, someone else. He knew he'd make it through, and he'd do it for this girl. She needed him, even if she wouldn't outwardly admit it. She didn't need him half as much as he needed her though. He wasn't as strong and independent her. But it didn't matter. It was words better left unsaid between the two of them, but there was an understanding, they would look after each other always, and Tohru would be free find her own happiness, even if it was with that damn cat.


	36. Shine

**Song: Shine - Laura Marling (if you don't know Laura, check her out. She's pure genius). This is a really literal take on the song, but it was fun XD So, who participated in Earth hour this year? I didn't -.- I was going to, but then I had to complete an overdue assignment on my computer instead. Sorry, Earth. I'll do better next time XD**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fruits Basket, Laura Marling, or Laura Marling's talent :(**

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"We should turn all the lights off in a few minutes." Yuki said, checking his watch, "Earth hour." He reminded her. All he received in response was a grunt, and then a protest.

"No. The lights stay on. Just turn the TV off if you want."

"But we should really turn everything-"

"Then get a lamp out."

"But that still uses-"

"Or candles. Candles don't harm the planet, do they?" She looked at him accusingly, as if he were doing his best to deny her of some human right.

"Machi…" He'd never really thought about it before, but he couldn't think of a better explanation, "Are you scared of the dark?"

She looked affronted for a moment, then turned away.

"Idiot." She mumbled. She seemed embarrassed. "Just… everyone knows accidents are most likely to happen in the dark. I just don't want you to die from falling over something and breaking your neck, that's all."

On the one hand, this could be a silly lie to cover herself because she was ashamed of having a fairly childish fear. On the other, given the state of her apartment, it could just be very sensible forward thinking.


	37. Alice

**Song: Alice by Avril Lavigne. That's five. I'll probably do the last five tomorrow, or the day after that, when my lovely Easter holidays start! XD**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Furuba or Avril Lavigne**

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"Oh, Machi." Her mother seemed shocked to see her, in the grocery store of all places, and with an unusually good-looking boy she wasn't familiar with.

"Mother." Machi tilted her head in acknowledgement.

Her mother instinctively, on the sight of her daughter, pushed her precious son behind her, protecting him. It was a gesture that was impossible to ignore.

"Well, I must be going… things to do." She made excuses to move her son out of harm's way. Who knew what such a girl was capable of, after all?

"Machi, are you okay?" Yuki looked rather knocked back by the whole encounter. He knew about cold parents, but Machi's mother seemed almost _scared_ of her daughter.

"Do you think they sell pomegranates here?" Machi asked robotically, moving away from him in search of something she had no interest in really finding.

She was keeping herself together, all the while searching for a comfort that even he could not give.


	38. Pitch Black

**This has been an insanely long time coming, and it's not even what I said it'd be. Rather than do more song-inspired drabbles, I went back to writing a more conventional (and more in my comfort zone) one-shot, after inspiration randomly hit. I hope you like :D**

**DISCLAIMER: Furuba is not mine, tbh.**

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Machi's reaction to Yuki's freshly dyed black hair would have been humorous if Yuki hadn't already been quite self-conscious of it. He'd come to his long-term girlfriend in hopes of reassurance and positive feedback. Instead, he was met with:

"What… happened?"

Her wide eyes weren't on his face as she spoke. They were focused upwards, on his mop of darkened hair.

"I dyed it." He replied, trying to sound nonchalant, but failing. "I just thought, well, first day of work next week, and I want to give a good first impression."

"But… your hair." She gawped, and he wondered whether she'd taken in a word he'd just said.

"Well… I've always had people say that my hair's natural colour couldn't possibly be real. I guess it _was_ kind of unusual. I'm just hoping to draw as little attention to myself as possible when I start next week."

Machi seemed to be still rendered rather speechless, stricken in what appeared to be horror, not the admiration and compliments he'd been looking for. He was starting to feel uncomfortable under her staring.

"Does it look… _that_ bad?" He asked. He couldn't even fake confidence now. If it really looked that terrible, he'd have to… shave it off or something before he could face his first day at work.

He couldn't help but pick up on the long pause in which Machi seemed to collect herself and look away.

"No. It's… fine. You definitely won't stand out at all amongst your new colleagues."

Although this was exactly the desired effect, somehow Machi made it sound incredibly negative.

"But _you_ don't like it?" He asked, coming to kneel down right in front of her on the floor of her apartment, where she couldn't avoid looking at him.

"It's not up to me what you do with your hair."

"Machi… I'm a big boy now, I think I can take hearing what you really think." He smiled, whilst inside cursing himself for inviting her to share her true thoughts. After all, from the look on her face, he wasn't going to like them.

"I liked it better before. I'd never seen anyone with hair the same colour as yours before." She said, unexpectedly softly, "When I saw it for the first time, I was sure it was dyed." She pondered for a moment, "I thought it made you look pretentious."

"What?" He was taken-aback. He'd never really asked her about her first impression of him. He'd always assumed that it can't have been _too_ bad, seeing as where the two of them were now.

"I guess… I thought it was just for show, that it was a kind of cry for attention, a 'look at me!' kind of thing."

Yuki wasn't sure whether he should be offended by this revelation. Did he really give people that impression?

"I mean, after that, I spoke to you, and I realised your hair was just part of you, it wasn't a flashing billboard to get people to look at you or anything."

"Well, then it's good that I have nice, normal hair now then. No boss wants an employee who's pompous and pretentious right down to the very hairs on their head." He smiled slightly. How Machi managed to be so blunt, but at the same time endearing, was beyond him.

"Well that's settled then." Machi said, in a way that said absolutely nothing was settled. "I'm going to make a start on the dishes. I'll call you and your new hair to dry up when I'm done."

She got up, and headed towards the kitchen. Yuki grinned at her retreating back. She was unfailingly adorable when she was perturbed. Still, she might be even cuter when he tells her the dye's only temporary.


End file.
